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KOTA BAHARU, Feb 23 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Monday urged Muslims to continuously strive to acquire knowledge as a capital for their self-advancement and to propel the country to a higher horizon.

The Prime Minister said Muslims must be learned and knowledgeable people as exhorted by Islam and to keep up with the high respect and recognition accorded to Malaysia by Islamic countries as an exemplary Islamic State to them.

"To learn knowledge is an obligation in Islam. We need to acquire knowledge in every field, especially in economics and finance, to become a respected and honourable race in an independent nation," he said when opening the state-level Islam Hadhari (Islamic State Administration) at Universiti Sains Malaysia in Kubang Kerian.

Islam Hadhari is the brainchild of Abdullah who launched the programme at the national-level on September 2002 when he was Deputy Prime Minister.

Abdullah arrived here Monday for a one-day working visit to Kelantan, his first since becoming Prime Minister on Oct 31 last year.

Abdullah said the government, in its efforts to assimilate Islamic norms and values on Muslims through various programmes, had never ignored non-Muslims.

Non-Muslims were free to go about with their own activities and programmes which benefited them, he said.

He said the government gave attention to Bumiputeras because they have a lot of weaknesses which needed to be overcome before the country attained developed country status in 2020.

"This does not mean I do not care about the interests of non-Malays or non-Muslims.

"I cannot ignore non-Muslims because I am the Prime Minister of a multi-racial country like Malaysia. That's my responsibility," he said.

Abdullah invited multi-racial Malaysians to remain united to realise the full potential of the country's independence, with the government implementing various programmes to build a sovereign and respected country.

"We need to have the ability to plan to achieve success, only then we'll be respected by friends and foes," he said to the applause of about 15,000 people.

Abdullah also said certain quarters making confusing statements on Islam to the extent of causing disunity among Muslims must be stopped for the good of the Ummah.

He said statements and religious rulings (fatwas) issued during ceramahs and Friday sermons have many times created anxiety and caused a split among Muslims.

He said the government would adopt the approach of giving extensive explanation to Muslims apart from taking stern action against those who tried to distort religious issues.

The Islamic assimilation initiatives carried out in the country was based on the country's unique feature given its multi-racial and multi-religious population unlike in certain Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia.

Abdullah also said it was not true that federal leaders were practising secular policies as the country is being developed according to Islamic principles.

He also said he was prepared to accept constructive criticisms and ideas from anyone regardless of their status.

-- BERNAMA