“Continuing the Legacy of Freedom and Harmony under the 1Malaysia Concept: The Role of Sarawak’s Youth”

“Continuing the Legacy of Freedom and Harmony under the 1Malaysia Concept: The Role of Sarawak’s Youth”

Hi.....We would like to share a presentation by Professor Dr. Chandra Muzaffar during the 1st Dialogue with Sarawak Youth on Continuing the Legacy of Freedom and Harmony under the 1Malaysia Concept 'Legacy of Freedom and Harmony – Passing on the Torch to our Future Leaders' at the Dewan Undangan Negeri Kuching on 8 February 2010. He is the Chairman of Trustees, 1Malaysia Foundation.

Welcome your comments on the presentation. Thanks.

Assalamualaikum, salam sejahtera, peace be with you. I’d like to begin by thanking SDI for this very kind invitation. I am happy to be here in Kuching again after a few years. It is not very often that I come to Sarawak. I was just remarking to my friends as we were driving to the Dewan Undangan, that Kuching always impresses me with its beauty and its cleanliness. If I have to recommend a city to visitors from abroad, I wouldn’t be in doubt to recommend Kuching.

Friends, you could not have chosen a more appropriate day to talk about the Legacy of Freedom and Harmony. Why? The 8th of February is the birth anniversary of Tunku Abdul Rahman. The Tunku as you know, the 1st Prime Minister of Malaysia, the Father of the Nation, is the person responsible for this entire legacy that we talk about. The legacy of freedom and harmony, he perhaps more than any individual, has to be credited for ensuring that freedom and harmony would be part of the foundation of the Malaysian nation. The Tunku chose to commit a young nation, called “Malaya” at that time in 1957 to Parliamentary Democracy which enshrines the principles of freedom and he chose to commit the people to a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-religious nation. That this would be the nation that we try to build, in other words, both freedom and harmony were part of the Tunku’s mission, they have become part of the nation’s legacy. I don’t know whether it is a coincidence or you chose the 8th of February by design but whatever it is, I think it is most appropriate that you are discussing the legacy of freedom and harmony on the 8th of February. If the Tunku had been alive today, he would have been 107 years old. He was born in 1903, our 1st Prime Minister and this is important for your generation; you must always connect with your history as a people, as a nation. We cannot forget this, only if we value our history, we will be able to move forward because...........

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