Event to celebrate unity among all racial groups next Saturday

KUALA LUMPUR: An event to celebrate unity among all racial groups will be held next Saturday at the Perdana Botanical Garden here.

Dubbed “Moments of Unity”, it is aimed at upholding the Rukun Negara and inspiring Malaysians to look beyond skin colour and forge true friendships.

The organisers are the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (NCCIM), the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.

“As the saying goes, unity is strength, and national unity is fundamental to national development, whereas discord and division are sure paths to chaos and failure,” NCCIM and ACCCIM president Datuk Ter Leong Yap told reporters.

He said that businesses and entrepreneurs were at the forefront to promote unity as harmony and stability were crucial to attract foreign investments and promote business development.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and national shuttler Datuk Lee Chong Wei will be attending the event from 8.30am to 11am.

There will be a morning exercise, appointment of unity icons, promotion of unity internship programme, photography and video contests, among others.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Joseph Kurup, who was at the press conference yesterday, said the initiative was a platform to bring people of all races together, both in good and bad times.

The moments of unity concept was first raised by Najib in his National Day address last year when he highlighted the beautiful things that brought Malaysians together.

Elaborating on a unity internship programme, Kurup said some 1,300 bumiputra students from participating universities were placed at companies which are members of ACCCIM and the Malaysian Retail Chinese Association to promote cross-cultural understanding.

“For the second phase, we are looking at inviting non-bumiputra students to take up internships at government-linked companies such as Felcra (Federal Land Consoli­dation and Rehabilitation Authority) Bhd,” he said.