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Armed with picnic mats, nasi lemak and games, 200 attendees at NGO Negara-Ku’s 'Piknik Rakyat' at Petaling Jaya this morning in a bid to "reclaim the nation".

Speaking at the event, Negara-Ku patron and national laureate A Samad Said said that this is Malaysians need to "learn to live together" after "pollution" of interracial ties in the country.

"I believe that the most important thing in our lives is to learn to live together. An American writer residing in France once said that, "We should try to live together or die like fools."

"This means, we either learn to live together or we die in futility, also together, so we must choose to live together," said the writer, better known as Pak Samad.

Fellow patron Ambiga Sreenevasan said that the picnic was held in conjunction with Malaysia Day because many feel that their "wonderful memories of Malaysia" are being marred by recent inter-racial strife.

"We want those memories back. We know who we are. They can fight, but we won’t and this (the picnic) proves it.

"All of us here proves that what we want is to be together, laugh together and eat together. That is what Malaysia is," she said.

She added that the desires of all Malaysians are the same – for their children to have a bright future, for a government that cares for them and for peace and harmony.

Similarly, Negara-Ku chairperson Zaid Kamaruddin said that race relations in Malaysia is not a "zero-sum game".

"After what has happened lately, it is important for us to rekindle that bond and good ties within the community," he said.