MALAYSIA A GOOD EXAMPLE OF A COMPREHENSIVE ISLAM NATION, SAYS PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Najib Razak said Malaysia is
in a great position to share with the world its uniqueness of being a
comprehensive Islam nation.

"I am also proud to mention that we do this in a way that is shared with our
non-Muslim communities.

"Malaysia has many good examples to share with the world; a thriving Islamic
finance industry, a comprehensive pilgrimage fund and administration system and
syariah law to name a few," he said in his latest blog entry.

Malaysia should be proud of that, he said, adding that he believed that
promoting and sharing the way Malaysia managed Islam was one avenue to ensure
that Islam could be understood and respected better by nations in the world.

The prime minister was responding to a question posed by Nurul Shafika Ahmad
at 1Malaysia.com.my.

She wanted to know why Islam was still being questioned by some groups and
countries, and Muslims persecuted in many ways such as being prohibited from
performing prayers, accused of terrorism and detained in Guantanamo Bay among
others.

"As a Muslim, I am disappointed. I hope this will end after President
Obama's administration. Don't let this be another heartless Bush," she wrote.

Najib said President Barack Obama had made a gesture which the Muslim world
did not see from his predecessor, George W. Bush, during his eight years in
office.

"The speech delivered by President Obama in Cairo early last June was a
watershed moment as the United States is now making a concerted effort to mend
the frayed relations with Muslims across the globe.

"From an international perspective, I sincerely believe we will see a more
positive relationship between not just the world leaders, but also the citizens
of these countries, based on respect and open dialogue," he said.

The prime minister also said Muslims, while forming expectations and
demanded respect for Islam, must also be mindful of reciprocating the same to
others.

"It is our role as Muslims to reflect the best qualities that the Quran and
Hadith continuously speak of.

"By displaying the positive values of Islam -- respect, knowledge-seeking,
peace-loving -- we will also be able to dispel widely-held stereotypes about the
Muslim community and break the cycle of violence," he added.

To another question, Najib said he understood that at first glance, the
decision to liberalise the economy might appear awkward for the Bumiputeras
(literally means sons of the soil).

He assured, however, that while the government took measures to revitalise
Malaysia with a new economic model, the needs of Malaysians would not be
overlooked.

The prime minister said the global economic landscape had change immensely
over the decades and as such, Malaysia must transform itself to further enhance
its competitiveness.

He also said that the government would remain committed to promoting
sustainable national agendas which included meaningful and effective Bumiputera
participation.

In this regard, Najib pointed out that the government had established the
Ekuinas to manage Bumiputera participation in the economy.

"As you may be aware, Ekuinas has just established its management team very
recently and is expected to announce its initial framework by end of August.

"Ekuinas must stand on a ruling that it will be commercially driven, provide
genuine partnerships and meritocracy with investments focused on strong
Malaysian companies," he said.

On a more micro-economic level, Najib who is also the Finance Minister, said
the government was working hard to further develop the country's small and
medium enterprises (SME) via the SME Development Council.
-- BERNAMA