KUALA LUMPUR: If former Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein was still around today, he would undoubtedly be disappointed over how things turned in the country over four issues.
This in regards to the state of the country’s unity, education, economy and integrity, said Sultan Perak, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah.
In his royal address at the launch of "Fulfilling a Legacy", a book on the country’s second premier, the Perak ruler said the the initial pages of the book touches on the nation’s unity and Razak’s insight on unity where he said: "The future of this country depends on one important thing, that is on the unity of our people of various races".
Sultan Nazrin said the current state of affairs on unity goes against what Razak espoused.
This can be seen from the political parties at present who to gain support, were increasingly fond of igniting sensational issues involving race and religion, he said.
On education, the Perak ruler said the National Education Policy as contained in The Razak Report underscored the importance of the role played by schools to foster national unity through the development of the national education.
"However, today's implementation method of the policy has failed to meet the goals of schools to serve as a platform to unite citizens.
"The younger generation of various backgrounds today, who go through various school streams, will not have the opportunity to interact and get to know each other, instead they end up growing separately," he said in his speech.
On the nation’s economy, Sultan Nazrin said the issue was taking place at the implementation stage, where all kinds of problem arise from the New Economic Policy.
He said this includes issues such as misappropriation of opportunities for wealth distribution, which in turn resulted in massive leakage of the Bumiputera economy.
He adds that this not only has provoked misconceptions that the policy was discriminatory of non-Bumiputeras but has also outraged Bumiputeras themselves.
Lastly, Sultan Nazrin touched on corruption and integrity.
"Tun Abdul Razak's heart will surely break over the exposures, capture and arrests of the corrupted, those who are of high positions and highly educated, caught with massive amounts ... They have ruined the country's reputation," he said.
At the event the Ruler also called upon attendees to pray for the former Prime Minister, who died on Jan 14, 1976 in London.
"Let us all pray to Allah that the aspirations and sacrifices made by Tun Abdul Razak will not be forgotten and erased from the memory and heart of the people," he said.
Sultan Nazrin was accompanied by his wife Raja Permaisuri of Perak, Tuanku Zara Salim.
The book, "Fulfilling a Legacy" was authored by Shahreen Kamaluddin and published by the Tun Razak Foundation.
In the book, Shahreen records the foundation's history, programmes and other activities over a span of 40 years as well as interviews with the Board of Trustees who have worked closely with the Tun Abdul Razak.
The book is priced at RM100 and can be purchased through the foundation.