IF we are serious about promoting national unity, we must take the cue from the Malaysia Madani concept initiated by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

However, we must learn to be creative in applying this excellent concept in our everyday life, so we can be more effective and impactful in the things we should be doing or are already doing.

Malaysia is an ethnically diverse country and this should be an enviable source of strength, rather than being seen as a weakness by some malicious quarters.

We come from different ethnic backgrounds yet we have a lot more in common than our differences.

Therefore, we can share what we have in common and learn from any cultural differences that we may have rather than fight over them.

Our diversity has been made a weakness by those selfish, greedy, malicious and power hungry forces in order to “divide and rule” the people and to distract them from the real issues and the real causes, which often transcend the racial divide but are made to look racial in nature.

Moving forward, we should know how to use the Malaysia Madani concept to harness the strengths based on our diversity and to minimise any potential weaknesses that the enemies of our country may wish to exploit.

To be more effective in promoting national unity, we should focus on events where people gather together:

• Open houses should be encouraged for all festivities, using our multicultural Asian food as a platform to bring people together
• Shopping malls are a great place for more multicultural performances to bring the various races together. More effort should be made to promote courtesy to other races, for example, giving way and holding the doors in using elevators and escalators
• Sports are an excellent platform that we should explore a lot more to promote national unity. On an international level, Fifa has come up with new policies using football to promote cultural harmony, peace and sustainability
• People should make more effort on the roads to promote courtesy, and to give chance and give way to all, regardless of race, to prevent road rage based on ethnicity
• Employers should as far as possible hire staff of various ethnicities without compromising on merit. They should also make a more conscious effort to organise more healthy events that cater to all races, such as food gatherings, sports, treasure hunts and board games
• There should be more effort to promote courtesy and greater respect for the elderly and women on public transport, and similarly the culture of give chance and give way to all
• Promoting sincere courtesy and mutual respect, rather than intolerance can go a long way to achieving national unity.

The role of the media, including social media, in promoting national unity cannot be overstated.

They all have a social responsibility to promote goodwill to all races and not to fall into the traps of racial or religious bigots. For example, turning a small incident into a major divisive issue based solely on emotions and half-truths. – May 2, 2023.

* Heidi Young and Vanessa Wong work for Jukenworld.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.