Have A Meaningful Hari Malaysia - Monday in The STAR

“Our fate as a nation can only be determined when we hold through to the truth that is bigger and better than that of our own race.” - Allahyarham Dato‘ Seri Onn Jaafar (1895 – 1962)

Let us be Moderate:  First, be critical of ourselves and our own community

In our Hari Raya Aidilfitri message, we elaborated the fourth point of the Ten Principles for a Moderate Malaysian. In this advertisement, we are happy to share the fifth principle. Do look forward to the upcoming five.

Principle Number Five.

I will first be critical of myself and my own community. If I am a Muslim, I will be critical of other Muslims’ wrongdoings first. If I am a Christian, I will be critical of other Christians’ wrongdoings first, and so on.

1.    What is the basis of this principle?

It is THE SUCCESS FORMULA recommended by all of our traditions and spiritual teachings. The Bhagavad-Gita suggests for us to reshape ourselves through the power of will. Tao Te Ching observes that to conquer others we need strength, but to conquer oneself is harder. Dhammapada states that it is easier to conquer a million men in battle than to conquer oneself. The Bible asks us to remove the plank in our eyes, in order to remove the speck that is in our brother’s eye. The Quran decrees that God will never change the fate or condition of a people until they change it themselves.

2.    When to use this principle?

Whenever our own community commits wrongdoings! Malaysian Buddhists should be the first to criticize the threats of genocide in Myanmar. Malaysian Muslims should be the first to condemn the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan. Malaysian Christians should be the first to criticize the desecration of the Quran by extremist Christians. Malaysian Hindus should be the first to condemn the attack towards a Christian cathedral in New Delhi.

3.    Why this principle?

When we are the first to correct our own community’s mistake, we create strong bond between all, regardless of race or religion. When we are the first to critique those from our own community, we show clearly that what we are fighting for are shared values like truth, love and justice. Such behaviour encourages fairness and helps create deep Moments of Unity.

At zubedy, our programs draw strength from shared values and traditions. We believe that at heart, all Malaysians want good things for themselves and for their brother and sister Malaysians, simply because our nation cannot prosper as a whole if some of us are left behind.

You and I, we must always be critical of ourselves and our own community first and be Moderate Malaysians.