Tuesday, January 20, 2009

THUESDAY-20 JANUARY 2009 - BE THANKDUL FOR PEACE, HARMONY, SAYS PAIRIN



Be thankful for peace, harmony, says Pairin

KOTA KINABALU


Sabahans and Malaysians in general should be grateful that they are able to live in peace and harmony when other countries are experiencing war, ethnic disagreement, starvation and humanitarian crisis.
“Therefore we should be thankful to be able to enjoy such peace and harmony despite the fact that we are living in a multi-racial, multi-religious and multicultural country,” Deputy ChiefMinister Datuk Sen Panglima Joseph Pairin Kitingan said.
However, there is a need to realize that the stability, peace and harmony enjoyed by all Malaysians did not come naturally and was not achieved easily, he said.
“It resulted from the sacrifice and contribution from many quarters, including the Government and the rakyat,” he said when launching the Chinese New Year Carnival 2009 at Lintasan Desoaka here last night.
Therefore, Pairin said it was imperative that the stability and peace be maintained for the benefit of the future generation.
According to him further, cultural celebrations such as the Chinese New Year carnival have strengthened unity among the races in the State and the attendance of people from all walks of lives as well as races reflects just how high the unity and tolerance is in the country.
“In this context, the State Government is confident that it is a positive sign towards the success of the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) with the aim to produce a happy and united community that live in harmony and prosperity,” Pairin stressed.
He added that the stage performances and other entertainment programs lined up for the carnival can be made as the prelude to the Chinese New Year celebrations on Jan 26 and 27.
The event, he pointed out, will not only attract locals but also foreign visitors who are always in awe of Sabah’s diversity in culture and added that it also provides business opportunities for those interested to get some income before the Lunar New Year celebrations.
Meanwhile Mayor Datuk Iliyas Ibrahim in his speech thanked Resource Development and Information Technology Minister Datuk Dr Yee Moh Chai who is also the Api Api Assemblyman for co-organising the event.
Iliyas disclosed that the event was in support of the State Government’s efforts to promote its tourism industry so that more people visit the City.
“Not only are we focused on making the City cleaner, safer and more beautiful, we are always concerned about the welfare of the residents, therefore we organize many of these community based events,” he said.