Glad to see inclusiveness

Published on: Sunday, April 21, 2024

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From left to right: Kevin, Sharon, Sim Fui and V Jothi.

KELVIN Chai, a member of LDP, said he was glad to see the organisers mixed Chinese spoken and sung parts besides other ethnic elements like Murut, Bajau etc in the Hari Raya stage show.

“Besides bonding with each other, it helps to promote a feeling of unity, I think West Malaysia should follow the footsteps of how East Malaysia promote unity.”

Asked whether the presence of a non-Muslim like him make Muslims feel more understood, senior LDP leader Sim Fui said:

“Definitely, yes, because our presence narrows the difference, same country, born here, grew up together – this is how we really like to be as Sabahans and also Malaysians, this is what we call a multiracial spirit, we should keep it this way, every year open house.

“I hope it’s not only limited to Sabah, if possible, combine with Sarawak and the federal side and make it a yearly programme for the whole country.”

Sharon Tan – a Social media team member covering the event, said: “I think it is very useful to foster unity because all the participants come from different races, different backgrounds, and we all get to know each other.”

Sharon’s unidentified teammate said:

“I get to learn a lot about their culture, because through the entertainment and shows, they showed us how they actually celebrate Hari Raya, so it’s really different from my own culture,” he said.

The presence of Indian community was good to see.

“This is good and special unique way of doing things in Malaysia,” said Datuk V Jothi.

“Every year, we come together, we celebrate Hari Raya together, that is the uniqueness of Malaysia and we also have other opportunities, like Deepavali, we have this and that, we all come together, this is special in Sabah but also whole of Malaysia.

“This is what we call ‘unity in diversity’, we get people of all races together and this is the place to meet old friends, shake hand with them, say hello to them and enjoy food, this is the unique in the state of Sabah and in Malaysia.”

“It’s a good event for Sabahans, the government should continue it because this is the only time that the government and the people can be together during Hari Raya,” said Victor Ationg, Group Manager of Sawit Kinabalu.

“Unity is also important, of course unity can help, this is the culture of Hari Raya, everybody can come.”

Friend, Theodore Goh, chipped in: “It helps because all the ethnic associations come here, they are invited here.”