'Youths should nurture sense of belonging'

PETALING JAYA: Former International Trade and Industry minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz has called Malaysians, especially the young ones, to nurture the sense of belonging to bring the country to the next level.
Commenting on the much talked about local film "Ola Bola", while Rafidah has not watched yet, she said that she had "lived the days of Ola Bola", in the 1980s.
The movie, directed by Chiu Keng Guan, tells a fictional story of the Harimau Malaya football team set in the late 1970s – which was inspired based on true event in country's football history.
"I have been asked by some young people, if I saw the film 'Ola Bola', they felt touched by the sentiments and emotions the story evoked ... I can understand very well what those sentiments are," she said in a Facebook posting.
Rafidah recalls her family gathering by the radio to listen to football matches the Malaysian teams were and visualising those matches.
"It was all about the team of our country, the players of various races who made us proud ... our national team.
"It was nation first, and sports was something that brought cohesiveness (among) us," she added.
She pointed out that while youths in the past regatrded themselves as youth, regardless of "keturunan" or ancestry, and no one injected the notion of "being different" among each other.
The former Umno minister added that schools treated the youths equally with its school uniforms and badges
"It (the uniform and badges) was to forge that strong spirit of belonging to our alma mater ... that nurtured that sense of belonging to the larger society beyond school.
"We wore the national 'badge' then," she said.
Rafidah said it was heartening to note that many of young Malaysians today are having that sense of belonging in Malaysia, who empathise with things happening around them.
"It is hoped that this sense of belonging will motivate our young (ones) to be better than those before them in every aspect.
"To do what it takes to be the Malaysians that the world can respect; add value to the nation and strengthen the bonds of friendship that must be the starting point, of multiracial Malaysia's resilience and continued growth with harmony," she added.