The Malays must refrain from wallowing in self-pity any more and take advantage of the opportunities to progress, said Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today.

Attitudes such as indulging in self-pity, subjecting oneself to grief and isolating oneself from development would only cause the Malays to be left out of development, he said.

"We have to migrate from a less favourable situation to a more favourable one, from a depressive state of mind to one that sees the opportunities that abound," he was quoted as saying by Bernama .

Abdullah said he did not want urban development achieved thus far to be seen as having isolated the Malays.

Malays must change

He said it was pointless for Malays to take pride in development such as the construction of high-rise buildings on their inherited land when they did not have a share in the buildings.

"The Malays must change in terms of attitude and mindset; they should not see only obstacles and restrictions but discern opportunities," he said.

Abdullah was speaking at the presentation of offer letters for lease of affordable apartments in Pulau Duyong, Terengganu.

Thirty people received offer letters to occupy 30 completed apartments out of 120 planned in the area.

Each of the apartments is estimated to cost almost RM100,000 but is sold to the people at a low cost of only RM40,000.

Referring to development on Pulau Duyong, Abdullah said any development on the island should not isolate the local population.

Every development in a locality must involve the local population and not cause these people to "flee" from the area, he said.

"Progressive people must take advantage of opportunities to progress and succeed," he said, and called on the people of Pulau Duyong to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the traditional boat-building industry there.