Race or nation? how about some imagination? 🙂
The Swiss is a good example. This national conversation is not isolated from examples from the other side of the globe. We cannot live in isolation. And we must not think in isolation too.
“One example of a multi ethnic people living as a single Bangsa is Switzerland. The Swiss as we know it is actually made up of 4 ethnic groups living peacefully together. They participate in same activities, join the same army, sing the same national anthem, salute to same national flag, but they still exist as different ethnic groups and speak different languages. To the outside world, they are just one people, the Bangsa Swiss. I just hope that our politicians can learn from the Swiss and stop making racial statement that incites the people. They should come out of the racial cocoon and talk of Malaysian interest instead of the interest of a single race. “
This is an excellent contrast of pictures and makes one wonder beyond them 🙂 I’m buying the NST papers every day because of the 1957 edition. It’s already sparked off connections which I have missed in the past. This is reconnecting past history with the construction of a future history at it’s best. Even if it’s a small step at the level of the mind.
Interesting history when seen in the light of Bangsa Malaysia.
PM: M’sia neither secular nor theocratic country
Here we go again … “state” or “country”? Technical precision in terms or reshaping public imagination? Or …
PM: Pembangkang sengaja bangkitkan isu kontrak sosial
Editors play such an important role when they choose titles and in what they highlight. I suspect the PM reply to the question was answered in Bahasa Malaysia so I decided to check it out.
“Menurut Abdullah, beliau akan sekali lagi menjawab isu itu supaya ia tidak dipanjangkan sehingga menimbulkan rasa tidak selesa di kalangan penduduk pelbagai kaum di negara ini.
Katanya, Malaysia bukanlah sebuah negara sekular ataupun teokratik.
Sebaliknya, kata Perdana Menteri, Malaysia adalah sebuah negara Islam yang ditadbir berlandaskan prinsip-prinsip Islam dan berpegang teguh kepada prinsip demokrasi berparlimen yang berpandukan kepada Perlembagaan Persekutuan.
Menurutnya, prinsip Islam yang beliau maksudkan itu dapat dilihat melalui pendekatan Islam Hadhari yang beliau perkenalkan.”