PENGUNJUNG SETIA

02 September 2008

UNITY BEING WEAKENED

TANGKAK: Certain parties are instilling dissatisfaction in the various races to divide people and control the country, said Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman.

Speaking at the Serom Constituency National Day celebration here, he said they adopted the British colonial system of divide and rule to weaken Malaysian unity.

He said the country and its people would face greater disunity if such a system took effect.

Free to fly: Abdul Ghani (right) releasing 51 pigeons to mark the launch of the Merdeka celebrations in Serom Utama recently.

People under Umno’s founding father, the late Datuk Onn Jaafar, struggled to free the country from British rule.

They came from all over to support Onn in his fight against the formation of the Malayan Union, he said at the launch of the celebration in Serom Utama recently.

Abdul Ghani, who is also Serom assemblyman, said after Onn prevented the formation of the Malayan Union, people joined hands to seek independence.

He said the British segregated the people, confining the Malays to villages, the Chinese in mining areas or trading and the Indians in plantations or working as labourers.

However, everything changed after independence and the different races no longer lived in segregation, he added.

“For more than 50 years, the various races have enjoyed peace and progress but things can change if the people allow themselves to be divided again.

“It will be sad if certain parties succeeded in ruling the country through the divide and control system,” he said.

SOURCE: THE STAR, 2 SEPTEMBER 2008

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