BANGI - The Unity Government not only wants to be known as a moderate government but also be remembered for a new era of government that prioritises the welfare of the people, with a number of approaches in store.
The Higher Education Minister, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, said that 'Debat Perdana Madani' is one of the mechanisms that his ministry has come up with to bring Malaysia Madani to fruition.
Khaled said there are essentially several important dimensions that make up the government's emphasis in the debate.
"Firstly, Malaysia Madani is not just about a superior value system or a big idea. More importantly, this is a call for togetherness in giving the best to the motherland.
"As a ministry that manages the talents, knowledge, and wisdom of the country, the debate is a channel for all intellectual advantages to be raised and shared with the country.
"We want to mobilise all the strengths and advantages in terms of huge ideas and thoughts to contribute towards the efforts of delivering the nation's prosperity," he said at the launch of 2023's 'Debat Perdana Madani' at Dewan Canselor Tun Abdul Razak, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) today.
On behalf of the Education Ministry, Khaled revealed that the debate is a national project that focuses on idea generation because, without diverse ideas and viewpoints, there is no common agenda and mission for the country that can succeed.
"Secondly, the debate is the government's stage to detail out strategies and actions to make Malaysia Madani a success," he explained.
In addition to that, the debate was also said to be held annually in an effort to ensure that the idea of Malaysia Madani is truly understood and successfully implemented.
"As presented by invited panel members and scholars earlier, we believe that we need to ensure that the country is successful and able to live in peace," he said.
Earlier, morning presentations featured the College of Islamic Studies dean Hamad Bin Khalifa, Qatar University dean Professor Dr Recep Senturk, Global Islamic Politics principals of Jakarta State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah and Professor Dr M Din Syamsuddin, as well as National Author Professor Emeritus Dr Muhammad Haji Salleh.
Meanwhile, Malaysia Madani Forum, Realising a Civilised Country: Challenges in a Diverse Malaysia, featured Malaysian Science Academy fellow Datuk Dr Madeline Berma, the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) of Malaysia deputy research director Harris Zainul, Universiti Malaya (UM) History Department professor Professor Dr Khairudin Aljunied, and Political Sociology lecturer at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Professor Datuk Dr P Sivamurugan.