World needs to hear concerted voices of moderates, says Najib

LONDON: The push for a global movement of moderates should involve people from all faiths who must speak louder as a voice of reason and tolerance, the Prime Minister said.

Rallying the call, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said: “Just as Muslims need to make their voices heard, so do the Christians, the Jews, the Buddhists, the Hindus and the atheists who are sickened by intolerance, violence and terror.”

He said the world needed to hear the concerted voices of moderates in all countries and from all walks of life “and when we do, the prize of peace is there for all to see.”

The Prime Minister said this in a speech on the “Coalition of Moderates and Inter-Civilisational Understanding” at the Sheldonian Theatre of the prestigious University of Oxford yesterday.


Warm reception: Najib and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor (left, in green) shaking hands with some officers at the Malaysian High Commission in London yesterday. — Bernama
The audience included renowned academicians, MPs, corporate figures and students.

Najib quoted extensively from the Quran, the Bible and personalities such as Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr and Mahatma Gandhi.

Najib added: “We cannot allow this moment to be overtaken by extremists. That is why we are all here to foster not a clash of civilisations but an understanding and, perhaps, even a celebration of our differences and of everything we share.

“Modernisation and moderation must go hand in hand.”

Najib also dwelled on the causes of terrorism, saying the often cited reasons were the lack of economic development, education, despair, humiliation and a sense of hopelessness.

“While most have acknowledged these factors, if we observe more carefully, we will find that some terrorists come from well-off families and are much educated.

“Some really believe that other religions and civilisations represent the enemy and that there is no place for peaceful co-existence.”

Drawing on the Malaysian experience, he said national unity continued to be the overriding objective of his government.

“Since assuming the office of Prime Minister in 2009, I have continued to make this overarching goal the priority of my administration.

“In managing our plurality, we have decided on integration as opposed to assimilation. Malaysians accept their diversity. We do not merely tolerate each other but we also embrace and celebrate.”

Earlier, the Prime Minister visited Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies and met with Malaysian students at the 147-year-old Macdonald Randolph Hotel.