AUGUST 30 ― We in G25 join all Malaysians in celebrating the 65th Anniversary of Hari Merdeka on August 31, 2022.
Malaysians are blessed that the country has grown from strength to strength over the years as an independent country with all races enjoying peace and prosperity, thanks to all the contributions made by the government, the private sector and all levels of society.
As we give thanks for all the country’s achievements, we must also remember that there will always be challenges that we have to deal with as a nation from time to time. In the last two years the country was faced with the Covid-19 pandemic.
G25 wishes to express our deepest appreciation and admiration for all the sacrifices and hard work especially by our health and medical service men and women, doctors and nurses, the police and the military and all the volunteer groups in the public and private sector who gave their best to save the country from a humanitarian and economic disaster.
With the success achieved in overcoming the pandemic, the country is back on the road to recovery, with its economy expected to achieve more progress in creating jobs and incomes, thereby raising further our standards of living and quality of life.
The many self-employed who suffered loss of incomes during the pandemic and then the damage to property during the floods, now have an opportunity to rebuild their lives.
In building a strong economy and a prosperous country, Malaysia has the advantage of a multiracial and multicultural population of various races to give it the dynamism that diversity brings to push us up further to join the ranks of developed country status in the near future.
However, we should not take our strengths and progress for granted. Instead, we must be vigilant against the divisive groups in the country who use race and religion for their political and personal ambitions, at the expense of the people and the peace and happiness of the country.
We in G25 believe that the best way to address these divisive elements threatening the country is through institutional reform to strengthen the foundations of our democracy, law and order and to improve the governance system of transparency and accountability so that they can function as envisaged under the Federal Constitution to protect the liberties and rights of the people irrespective of race, religion and gender.
We in G25 are encouraged to see that the reform momentum is getting stronger across political parties and civil society groups. With reforms, we can expect to see more progress in dealing with the issues of justice and civil liberties including the discrimination based on race, religion and gender.
We believe that with the General Elections coming soon, there will be more political candidates who will speak up for reforms in their campaign speeches instead of talking about what they will do for their own communities.
More youths will now be eligible to vote. Thanks to our rapid social and economic development since Merdeka in 1957, there is a new generation of youths from all races who are progressive minded, earning their living together in the workplace and living their life as one nation.
They are more interested about education, training and job opportunities to become more employable in the modern economic sector and to become part of the global economy. They are our greatest asset to make Malaysia a truly united country.
Hidup Malaysia. MERDEKA
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
