KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 -- Former Malaysian ambassador to the US, Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz, has praised the people of Sabah and Sarawak for embodying the true spirit of a multiracial Malaysia and urged Malays in the peninsula to follow their example.

"This country is not just for Malays and Muslims. It is multiracial and multireligious. We cannot speak as if we only represent the Malays and Muslims," Nazri was quoted as saying in a report published by Free Malaysia Today.

He made these remarks when asked about Malaysia's political direction and the growing influence of political Islam.

According to Nazri, Sabahans and Sarawakians have a stronger sense of national identity, running their states as Malaysians regardless of racial or r...