KUALA LUMPUR: The success of Malaysia in organising the Peace Solidarity Assembly at Dataran Merdeka last night clearly showed that Malaysia is a model country in championing global peace.
Global Peace Mission (GPM) Malaysia chief operating officer, Syahrir Azfar Saleh said the event successfully galvanised the principles of peace and harmony among various religions to reject hatred.
He said Malaysia chose to spread the principle of peace despite being in grief and anger over the terrorist attacks at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand on March 15.
“World peace needs the cooperation of all races and this programme was successful in bringing together the strength and solidarity of the various races and religions in supporting the principle of peace,” he said when contacted by Bernama.
The solidarity assembly held for the first time following the tragedy which took 50 lives including Malaysian teenager, Muhammad Haziq Mohd Tarmizi, 17, and three Malaysians were among 40 injured in the incident.
During the assembly, representatives from various religions such as Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Taoism were unanimous in sending the message of rejecting any form of hatred and to promote peace instead.
Among the five thrusts of the Peace Declaration were the condemnation of all acts of discrimination, forms of terrorism and killing in the name of race and religion as well as denouncing any action and culture of hatred in the name of race and religion.
Humanitarian Care Malaysia (MyCARE) board member Dr Fauziah Hasan was personally touched when she received a rose from an unknown Chinese woman at the assembly.
Fauziah said the rose is a symbol of solidarity and friendship.
“This is indeed a manifestation of the spirit of peace. It proves we reject any form of hatred and terrorism and instead we celebrate our differences in harmony,” she said.
For Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) commissioner Associate Prof Dr Nik Salida Suhaila Nik Salleh said the measure of success of the assembly was not based on the physical involvement of participants but on how the message of peace reached the people.
“I found that the message from the assembly succeeded in reaching various media platforms especially social media such as Facebook and I hope people who received the message will set aside their political affiliations,” she said. – Bernama
