Najib Abdul Razak has expressed the hope of seeing Malaysia remain peaceful with intra- and inter-group unity prevailing in all the races.

The prime minister stated this at a meeting with the Inter-Religious Committee to Promote Mutual Understanding and Harmony among Religions held on Sept 14 at his office in Putrajaya.

Committee chairman Ilani Isahak, who is also the special coordinator to promote inter-religious understanding and harmony, said in a statement today that Najib regarded the meeting as the beginning and acknowledged the need for many more meetings with the committee.

"He stated his support for the committee as a mechanism which can resolve problems or issues, and stated his agreement to allocate a budget to assist the work of the committee," she said.

Ilani said the committee was established to foster harmony in the community in keeping with the desire of the 1Malaysia concept to elevate unity to a more meaningful level.
    
The two advisors of the committee, ministers in the Prime Minister's Department Koh Tsu Koon and Maj Gen (Rtd) Jamil Khir Baharom, also attended the meeting.

The delegation, which was headed by Ilani, comprised representatives from the Islamic Development Department of Malaysia (Jakim), Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (Ikim), Allied Coordinating Committee of Islamic NGOs (ACCIN), World Fatwa Management and Research Institute (Infad), Malaysian Consultative Council on Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) and Interfaith Spiritual Fellowship (INSaF).

MCCBCHST president Rev Thomas Philips said Najib's willingness to spend time to meet with the committee was a manifestation of his commitment and earnestness to transform the country and foster unity founded on the 1Malaysia concept.

- Bernama