Govt protects all communities amidst Islam’s status as country’s official religion, says PM

KUALA LUMPUR: The government will protect all Malaysians regardless of their religious backgrounds but society must accept the reality that Islam is the official religion of the federation, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The Prime Minister said claims that the Madani government was “exclusive” for Malays and Muslims were incorrect, saying it instead practices an inclusive concept that aims to protect everyone in the country.

“Madani is not an exclusive concept, it’s inclusive. The message in the Quran is clear. We protect people of all races, regions and villages.

“The majority of people here are Muslims and Islam is the religion of the federation – non-Malays must accept this reality.

“Our message is for everyone to be open and to learn from one another – not harbour suspicion. We are not anti-Chinese or anti-Indian. Everyone has their own religion.

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“We want to ensure the country is successful and this requires the effort of every Malaysian. This means we have to work together and the way to do this is to understand each other,” Anwar said during the one-year Madani government dialogue session at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium here on Sunday (Dec 10).

He was responding to a question about the Madani government concept as this was largely related to the Quran.

Another person from the audience also commented that the sentiment on the ground was that the Cabinet was not working well together as a team.

Anwar said he believed some ministers were not getting wide media coverage, giving the impression they were not performing well.

“Take a look at each ministry – from education to health, to commodities and foreign, for example. They are all playing their respective roles.

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“The Investment, Trade And Industry Ministry is bringing in hundreds of billions of ringgit to the country, while the Rural and Regional Development Ministry is making sure local entrepreneurs and products are being taken care of.

“This couldn’t have happened if they did not understand the meaning of teamwork. They work every day until late at night but are not getting the publicity,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi also called on the public to evaluate the performance of the Madani government over the next four years.

He said Malaysians must maintain political stability so for continued economic growth m which would also help to end unemployment.