Question: National unity is the foundation of every country.

Countries without s olidarity will find it hard to achieve peace and social harmony. Discuss the imp ortance of unity and how to achieve it. In this era of modern technology, national unity is indeed the foundation of every country to achieve peace and social harmony. I strongly believe that natio nal unity is a feeling that you are part of something, part of something bigger than you and that's worth your efforts to make it better. In this essay, I will discuss about the importance of unity and ways to achieve it. First of all, national unity is important because it can enable all the citiz ens to live in peace and harmony. Without strong unity among the people, our cou ntry might be invaded again. Thus, all the people will live in fear. For instanc e, the riots that happened in Thailand a few years ago had totally influenced th e country s economy and development. The military were all over the country and the citizens cannot even do their daily routine as usual. Even the tourists were afr aid to visit Thailand. This is why national unity is important- to achieve peace and social harmony among the people in the country. Next, by having national unity among the people can increase the pace of deve lopment in the country. As an example, after the bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasa ki in 1945, Japan had become a weak country, even after the Meiji s Restoration. But , because of the strong bond of national unity among the people in Japan, they c an easily develop again. In fact, Japan had become one of the most advanced coun tries in the 21st century. Even our former prime minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Moha mmad had elected Japan as an example for all the people here in Malaysia to foll ow their work ethics. To achieve national unity, we must first stop being racist. We are lucky to b e in a multiracial country. Thus, to achieve national unity, we should be able t o tolerate each other. By each other I mean by other races and religions. Even o ur government has organised a lot of events to strengthen our national unity. On e of it includes the 1Malaysia concept which was introduced by our current prime minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. According to Datuk Seri Najib, 1Malaysia is not a new concept or formula. It is a concept to foster unity in Malaysians o f all races based on several important values which should become the practice o f every Malaysian. The education system is also important as a way to enhance national unity esp ecially among youngsters in the country. Students in school should be taught abo ut the importance of upholding national unity. For instance, they can be taught about it during History lesson or maybe during Civics Studies lesson. The co-cur riculum is also one of the ways for the students to practise national unity. It is important for youngsters to know and practise social unity as they are the le aders of tomorrow. It is true that our country today is in peace and harmony. Bu t effective ways should be taken to preserve it. In conclusion, national unity is important towards a stable, peaceful and har monious country. I still strongly believe that national unity is a feeling that you are part of the country and to know that it is your responsibility to make i t better. However, national unity should not be mistaken for extreme nationalism . Everybody in the country should have good cooperation in supporting the activi ties that are organised by the government to preserve our peace and harmony. (566 words)