Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has urged the people not to be complacent and take lightly the independence and peace enjoyed by the country for the past 59 years.

He said many of the people in the country were negligent and took for granted the independence and peace prevailing in the country without knowing that it was not easy to achieve the independence.

"Our heroes sacrificed their lives, shed their blood to achieve and preserve the independence and harmony that we have today," he said in his official Facebook account @najibrazak today.

He expressed this opinion when launching the Monument Park Project in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

“Looking at the National Monument yesterday, I was overcome with sadness, the faces of our heroes who were killed while fighting to preserve peace and harmony in the country filled my mind," he said.

Najib also urged the people to express their gratitude and (for the Muslims) to offer 'Al-Fatihah' to the national heroes who had died.

Malaysia attained independence on Aug 31, 1957 after the British handed over the administration of the country to the citizens of the Federation of Malaya.

The Monument Park project transforms the National Monument area into an urban jungle park, which is among the efforts to turn Kuala Lumpur into a world-class city.

The project covering an area of 26.7 hectares will see the completion of the first phase in the middle of 2018, aimed to increase the area for recreation for the city dwellers.

Najib hoped that the Monument Park would be synonymous with Kuala Lumpur just like London is synonymous with Hyde Park, and the Central Park with New York.

- Bernama