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These could have been words from the lips of a sage: 8220;We cannot stand before a compassionate God while there is so much we have left un...

These could have been words from the lips of a sage: 8220;We cannot stand before a compassionate God while there is so much we have left undone because we are disunited.8221; They were the concluding remarks of Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the new prime minister of Malaysia, during a public address.

Malaysia is promoting itself these days. Among other things, it is luring tourists by offering them cheap tickets on Malaysian Airlines along with free hotel stays. But that is only one of the initiatives that India can learn from. Badawi has other things to promote about Malaysia besides business opportunities to investors, as I discovered on a recent visit to Malaysia.

In his address, Badawi proudly stated, 8220;But if the world ever needed a lesson in diversity and making it work, I am confident that Malaysia can be a showcase.8221; He continued, 8220;My country does not enjoy peace and harmony by accident. Our founding fathers and mothers did not leave it to chance that Malaysia would become a calm oasis of many cultures and religions8221;.

Datuk Badawi became quite emotional at this point, and there were tears in his eyes: 8220;Malaysians have worked hard for peace, harmony and prosperity. We have had to sacrifice and we have had to give and take8230;We have protected our many languages and religions so that our people are free to speak their mother tongues and profess the religions of their choice.8221;

Walking on the streets of Kuala Lumpur, one is amazed to notice how freely people mingle with those who are so different to them. About 10 per cent of Malaysians are of the Indian 8212; mostly Tamil 8212; origin, while nearly 30 per cent are of Chinese origin, and 55 per cent are Malay. The rest is a mixture of a small number of local tribes and people from neighbouring countries. While the majority are Muslims, there is a good percentage of Buddhists and a small percentage of Christians and Hindus. One also saw several shops run by members of the Sikh community.

The Malaysian experience makes one wonder why, in India, backwardness and terrorism is associated with Islam. Have we in India stereotyped the Muslim or is this mindset a result of the apathy of successive governments who have used this community only as a votebank?

Truly the Malays have demonstrated to the world how people of different races, religions, cultures and languages can live in peace and harmony.