PENAMPANG: Unity must continue to be nurtured to ensure that the people can unite to defend the country’s sovereignty from those who try to threaten it, said Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick.
He said unity among Malaysians is essential as even till today there are outside parties who want to undermine the country’s sovereignty, and claim a part of Sabah which has formed Malaysia since Sept 16 1963.
He said the differences among Malaysians, especially political ideology, race and religion, are not actually a disadvantage, but rather an advantage to prove the people from various backgrounds are able to live in peace and harmony and unite to develop the country.
“We see and live the many sacrifices that our leaders have made in the last 61 years to ensure that we enjoy freedom. But without us realising there are still those who want to challenge the sovereignty of the country.
“That’s why programmes like Kembara Merdeka Jalur Gemilang (KMJG) are important to awaken the patriotic spirit. The spirit to love the country and remind the people that the challenge is always there and there will always be elements who want to break the sovereignty of the country,“ he said.
He said this when met by reporters after officiating the Launch of the KMJG Programme in conjunction with the celebration of National Day and Sabah Day 2024 at the Penampang level here today.
KMJG 2024 in Sabah as a whole will travel through all 25 districts after starting in Penampang, involving a journey of 2,400 kilometres for 20 days with 60 stops accompanied by 60 participants and 18 vehicles from 14 departments and agencies of the federal and state governments.
Among those involved are agencies under the Ministry of Communications such as the Information Department, Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) and the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) as well as the state government namely the Sabah Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry and the Sabah Maju Jaya Secretariat.
Ewon who is also the MP of Penampang said that until now there are still demands made by external parties on Malaysia which have been taken to certain courts abroad.
“That is why the Malaysian government has established a special task force to fight all these efforts. This shows the great commitment of the federal government to the sovereignty of Sabah. Therefore we as Sabahans also need to commit to continue to defend this sovereignty,“ he added.
