Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (CU)_ A ten-year blueprint for the unity of the nation was launched by the Malaysian Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. The National Unity Blueprint 2021-2030 outlines the strategic policies and plans of the government to accomplish the objectives set out in the National Unity Policy, which focus to facilitate national integration on the basis of the main pillars of the Federal Constitution and Rukun Negara.
The PM said that the National Unity Policy and the accompanying 10-year blueprint were the result of years of hard efforts which focused on making the country more inclusive, compassionate and patriotic. He emphasized that further work should be done to accomplish true integration, referring imbalances in how various races regarded each other.
During the launch of the plan which was live-streamed in the ministry’s Facebook page, the PM said, “We have to nurture further this empathy in our attempt to understand each other and have a balanced and holistic perspective”. He added, “Like other multiracial nations, we have the tendency to view an issue regarding race from a racial or communal angle. We have to make this perspective better so that it becomes more balanced and holistic”.
PM Muhyiddin said more attention will be given to governance inclusiveness, which will be based on an integration model that celebrates unity in diversity. The NUP has planned three main goals to accomplish this. The first is national integration, based on principles enshrined in Rukun Negara and the Federal Constitution. Next, a national identity defined by patriotism, compassion, tolerance, respect and collective responsibility will be formed. Third, a community that values and practices unity will be created.
Muhyiddin said that these targets cannot be accomplished by the government alone. He said that the progress of the NUP would depend on the voluntary involvement of society as a whole, including the private sector and NGOs. He said, “I’d like to stress that this policy is our policy. We are all agents of unity. It is us who can push this aspiration forward”. He also warned saying, “We must be careful of the racial manipulation by politicians. They are the biggest challenge to any multiracial nation. We must avoid politicians who try to raise their value by stoking racial emotions.”
