Extremism, not religion, is threat to unity, integration: Malaysian PM
KUALA LUMPUR: Extremism, not religion, is the enemy of unity, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today.
He said extremism is not confined to a specific religion, as it also exists and is subscribed to by a minority of followers of many major religions.
"The problem is not religion, or when someone embraces one.
"The issue lies with extremism. We have Muslim extremists such as Islamic State (IS), Buddhist extremists in Rakhine, Myanmar, Christian extremists, Jewish extremists. Extremism is the enemy of unity," Najib said.
In his speech to launch the ‘Moments of Unity’ gathering at the Perdana Botanical Gardens here, Najib said mutual respect and empathy would forge better ties between people of different backgrounds.
"If we can empathise, we will see that a person is good because of his character, not because of his religion, skin colour and culture.
"If we can break walls between us, only then we can we nurture national unity and integration," Najib said to thunderous applause by 4,000 participants of the event.
Later, badminton champion Datuk Lee Chong Wei was announced as Malaysia's "Unity Icon" following his towering achievements in sports which rallied Malaysians from all walks of life.
He said extremism is not confined to a specific religion, as it also exists and is subscribed to by a minority of followers of many major religions.
"The problem is not religion, or when someone embraces one.
"The issue lies with extremism. We have Muslim extremists such as Islamic State (IS), Buddhist extremists in Rakhine, Myanmar, Christian extremists, Jewish extremists. Extremism is the enemy of unity," Najib said.
In his speech to launch the ‘Moments of Unity’ gathering at the Perdana Botanical Gardens here, Najib said mutual respect and empathy would forge better ties between people of different backgrounds.
"If we can empathise, we will see that a person is good because of his character, not because of his religion, skin colour and culture.
"If we can break walls between us, only then we can we nurture national unity and integration," Najib said to thunderous applause by 4,000 participants of the event.
Later, badminton champion Datuk Lee Chong Wei was announced as Malaysia's "Unity Icon" following his towering achievements in sports which rallied Malaysians from all walks of life.
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