Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail reminded Malaysians not to take the country's unity and peace for granted, and instead continuously strive to preserve these traits.

She said the harmony among the various races reflected unity spawned from various shared values found in the country's religious, ethnic, language and cultural diversity.

"It is easy to adopt a herd mentality when we are influenced by friends to mimic their actions based on emotions compared to rational thought.

"This is dangerous as we could be influenced to act in a way that could jeopardise the harmony enjoyed by Malaysians of different races and religions," she said in a speech at a Chinese New Year open house celebration for the Pandan parliamentary constituency, held at the Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya field in Pandan Indah last night.

Wan Azizah, who is also the Member of Parliament for Pandan, said Malaysians should not allow individuals with agendas to fan racially charged sentiments in the country.

On another matter, she reminded the public to continue to practise good hygiene by cleaning their hands regularly to prevent the spread of the Covid-19. - Bernama