Honour Tunku S Life By Realising His Dream For Malaysia Says Kit Siang

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Tunku Abdul Rahman served as prime minister from 1957 to 1970. (National Archives pic)PETALING JAYA: On what would have been the 118th birthday of Malaysia’s founding father, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang says the best way to honour Tunku Abdul Rahman’s life would be by realising the first prime minister’s dream for the nation.
In a statement, the Iskandar Puteri MP said it was sad that Malaysia was still haunted by the use of race and religion in politics, describing it as “narrow and intolerant”.
He said Malaysia will not be able to achieve success until all citizens are acknowledged as Malaysians first, then followed by their race and religion.
“Nobody is asking Malaysians to stop being Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans, or Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Taoists. But all must come together first and foremost as Malaysians.
“Malaysians must remember Tunku’s famous words for Malaysia, ‘To be a beacon of light in a difficult and distracted world,’ and be an example of the success of the alliance of civilisations, as we are at the confluence of four great civilisations – Islamic, Chinese, Indian and Western.”
Lim lauded the Tunku for having declared that the nation’s strength was in its people, with the uniting bond being that all its citizens are Malaysians.
He cited a quote by the first prime minister: “All talk on Islamic state is just an empty dream. No man in his right sense would accept a nation which bases its political administration on religion, and in a country like Malaysia with its multi-racial and multi-religious people, there is no room for an Islamic state.”
Tunku Abdul Rahman was born on Feb 8, 1903. He was the first chief minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955 to 1957 before serving as the first prime minister from 1957 to 1970. He passed away on Dec 6, 1990. - FMT

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