KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 ― In the spirit of Maal Hijrah, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has called for unity among all Malaysians.

In his speech, the King also said that the peace and stability of the country’s multi-ethnic society must be upheld, in line with the theme for this year’s Maal Hijrah, which is "Unity is the foundation of Malaysia Madani”.

"In the context of Malaysia and the spirit of hijrah that we need to ensure today is unity, and unity regardless of religious background, ethnicity, and customs, for the development of our country,” he said.

Addressing Agong’s speech on unity, Communication and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said that togetherness should be the very essence of a country which has multicultural values and stressed that this should be taken seriously by all parties.

He also reminded Malaysians that everyone must avoid making slanderous comments on the issue of race, religion and royalty (3R).

"We don’t want any seeds of division sown due to narrow racial sentiments, using arguments that we can consider as religious extremes, or mocking, joking, or insulting the royal institution.

"As a reminder to everyone, we have freedom of speech, but there is no freedom to slander,” he told the press after attending the event.

Also present at the event was Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his deputies, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Fadilah Yusof.