PUTRAJAYA, Aug 9 — Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has expressed hope that the arrival of the Islamic new year would endow Muslims with faith and patience to continue their efforts in the fight against Covid-19 through the National Recovery Plan (PPN) actively being implemented by the government.

"I pray that this test will be able to make us Muslims more pious and have strong resilience and self -assertiveness,” the Prime Minister said when delivering his speech at the national-level Maal Hijrah 2021/1443 celebration at the Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque here.

Muhyiddin also hoped that the Maal Hijrah celebration could continue to be appreciated and enlivened by Muslims in the country even though everyone was still in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic battle.

He said the Maal Hijrah celebration held today was a reflection of the government’s commitment so that the Islamic faith would continue to be preserved and dignified in line with its position as the highly revered religion of the Federation.

"I call on myself and also to all of you, let us together experience the event of ‘hijrah’ (migration) which is not just to remember the physical migration of Prophet Muhammad SAW by leaving property and residence alone.

"Every year, this Hijrah event strengthens our determination to work hard in practicing the teachings of Prophet Muhammad SAW, to change our attitudes and actions towards the qualities of ‘mahmudah’ (praiseworthy) as demonstrated by Prophet SAW,” he said.

Also present were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Seri Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri. — Bernama