Malaysians Unite When Faced With Calamities

NILAI (Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia), Dec 31 (Bernama) -- The disasters that have befallen Malaysia, namely the MH370 and MH17 tragedies and the devastating floods in the east coast has at least brought Malaysians together as they put aside their racial, political and religious differences. For example, when MH17 was shot down, Malaysia held 'Day of Mourning' which was observed by all Malaysians as a mark of respect for passengers who perished in the MH17 tragedy. Senior Lecturer of Syariah and Law faculty, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) Dr Mohd Hazmi Mohd Rusli said the east coast floods witnessed Malaysians, regardless of race or religion, helping one another. "Whereas when MH370 went missing and Malaysia was criticised by the outside world, Malaysians showed their support for the government in maintaining the dignity of the nation. "These calamities has made the people realise that although we are of different races and religions, we remain united as Malaysians. Malaysians should unite to take on 2015 which will be filled with more challenges and tests," he told Bernama here Tuesday. He said the floods in the east coast had been a yearly occurrence but this year it was unusually bad and was probably caused by uncontrolled logging activities. In view of this, the federal and state governments should take this as a lesson as the floods had caused millions of dollars in losses. He said drainage system should also be improved and more effective monitoring conducted to prevent excessive logging by irresponsible parties. "Malaysians should back the government by supporting projects that can reduce disasters, instead of being overly critical of the government's move. Mohd Hazmi said Malaysia were in fact a 'success story' and not many countries in the world (especially multi-racial countries) were capable of transforming the economy, social and educational standing of its people as drastically as how Malaysia has achieved. -- BERNAMA