He stated that during his parliamentary debate, he specifically expressed disappointment that neither the previous nor the current government organized a commemoration of the end of WWII.
"We hold commemoration days to promote peace and remember our forebears."
Tan Kok Wai made these remarks today (3rd) while attending the "80th Anniversary of Victory in the War of Resistance Symposium," hosted by the World Chinese Culture Research Association, and co-organized by the Malaysia-Taiwan Economic and Trade Association and the ASEAN-China Investment Promotion Association.
He said that Malaysia is, in fact, a nation of immigrants. Aside from the indigenous peoples, all other ethnicities—Malay, Chinese, or Indian—are people who immigrated from other countries before independence to settle on this land.
Therefore, he emphasized, Malaysia is the nation of all our ethnic peoples, and as long as everyone holds this belief, our country can maintain peace.
"Thus, every one of us has a responsibility to promote harmony among the people and to deepen goodwill in society as well as understanding and cooperation among ethnic groups."
He pointed out that among the ten ASEAN countries, Malaysia is one of only three that have never been under military rule, the others being Singapore and Brunei. Moreover, when Malaysia underwent a change of government after 61 years of independence, it happened without any bloodshed, which is a rare and commendable example internationally.
He said the purpose of holding commemoration activities is not to promote hatred, but to hope that the Japanese will apologize for WWII and not distort history to mislead future generations.
He also hopes that through such activities, everyone will better cherish peace.