Let us learn from Covid-19 pandemic and massive floods that we must unite as Malaysians and help each other as disasters know no race or religion

Malaysians will celebrate Christmas this year in the midst of two disasters, the Covid-19 pandemic and the massive floods particularly in Selangor, Pahang and Kelantan.

Let us learn from the two-year old Covid-19 pandemic and the massive floods that we must unite as Malaysians and help each other as disasters know no race or religion.

The Covid-19 pandemic has exceeded a cumulative total of over 2.7 million Covid-19 cases and claimed over 31,000 lives in Malaysia while the massive floods in the last few days have claimed 41 lives and destroyed, according to one estimate, some RM20 billion worth of property and damage to livelihoods, in utter disregard of race or religion.

It is heart-warming that at times of the flood distress, mosques in the Klang Valley became shelters to flood victims regardless of race or religion.

This is a lesson we must all learn – that we are human beings first and foremost, why we should all be Malaysians first.

We are at a critical juncture of our national development, wondering how and why we have fallen short of our promise as a nation after over half-a-century of our nationhood.

For a start, let us restore our bearings, let Malaysians regardless race, religion or region, uphold and reaffirm the Rukun Negara nation-building principles, without which Malaysia will never become a world-class great nation which is united, multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-cultural, democratic, just, equitable and progressive in science and modern technology.

There can be no “Keluarga Malaysia” if there is no Rukun Negara.