Prayer time: (From left) Najib, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Minister in the PM’s Department Datuk Jamil Khir Baharom praying at the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur Sunday.

Likening unity to bridges that connect the people and disunity to walls that divide them, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak urged the people to repair their bridges and tear down the divisive walls that existed among the races. Addressing the nation with his first National Day message as Prime Minister, Najib said the passing of time saw the bridges, which were painstakingly built by the nation’s founding fathers, becoming shaky due to attempts by certain quarters whom he described as opportunistic groups out to exploit the friction among the people. Najib said these groups were exploiting the slip lines that existed in society, be they political, religious or social, to satisfy their narrow agenda.

In any case, Najib said, the people should continue to manage the success and build upon what had been achieved thus far by continuously nurturing unity. “Bear in mind that what we have now will not necessarily become better. On the contrary, we can lose it all if we are not careful. “There is ample evidence throughout history that successes which are not managed properly end up as failures,” he said in the message in conjunction with Malaysia’s 52nd National Day aired over national television last night. Najib also called on the people, especially the young generation, to be mindful of the fact that the progress achieved thus far did not happen all by itself, but rather as a result of careful planning, effective implementation of policies and sacrifice on the part of various communities.

“It is clear that the success and progress achieved by Malaysia are due to the contribution and support of all races, all followers of religions, all strata of the society, in villages and towns, the ich and the poor, young and old,” he said. Najib said each and every Malaysian had access to every opportunity, limited only by their will to succeed, willingness to work hard and courage to take risks. — Bernama / The Star