TEKS UCAPAN VERBATIM

  

YAB DATO’ SERI ANWAR BIN IBRAHIM

PERDANA MENTERI

 

 

SEMPENA

 

PROGRAM TEMU ANWAR IPTS

 

 

 

5 MEI 2025 | ISNIN | 2.30 PETANG

DEWAN CANSELOR

MANAGEMENT AND SCIENCE UNIVERSITY

 

 

 

 

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh dan salam sejahtera.

 

Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Dato’ Wira Profesor Dr. Mohd Shukri bin Ab Yajid,

Presiden Management and Science University;

 

Staf dan anak-anak yang dikasihi sekalian.

 

1. Saya ucap penghargaan setingginya, khususnya kepada Timbalan Menteri, Ketua Setiausaha Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi kerana membantu menyelenggarakan majlis yang permai pada petang ini. Seperti mana disebut oleh Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Dato’ Wira Profesor Dr. Mohd Shukri bin Ab Yajid, ini adalah acara pertama saya mengadakan dialog langsung Temu Anwar dengan mahasiswa dari IPTA.

 

2. Now, thank you very much. I do appreciate the reception, enthusiasm, young students, and I intend to be very brief to allow questions to be raised, views to be expressed. This is essentially a dialogue session; it is not a monologue. I do not come here to be an expert or to answer or to establish some of the profound arguments, particularly in our very challenging times.

 

3. This morning, I called a special session of Parliament. The special session is to deliberate precisely the issue of the unilateral decision that President Donald Trump of the United States of America—the unilateral decision to impose tariffs. They will certainly adversely affect the position of many emerging economies, including many of you here.

 

4. But our decision in Malaysia, and ASEAN in particular, is to engage—not to be combative. There is no point in acting in a hostile manner, but to engage, have the discussions, and explain our terms. We have already participated in the multilateral trade arrangements. You know the history, prior to WTO or GATT, now WTO, and that is a multilateral agreement where you can ensure some manner of order, rule-based trading system that would ensure some form of justice, consideration, and I think we’ll pursue that. We’ve sent the ministers to negotiate with the Trade Commerce Department, and we have to continue to evaluate, but there’s no finality.

 

5. As you know, things are still fluid. President Trump has given a 90-day reprieve. Malaysia is a trading nation. We trade with countries in ASEAN, with the United States, with China, and many countries in the world. Our investment from the United States is still number one—cumulatively, it is the highest trading partner. China is becoming a very important player now and a reliable, good neighbour. ASEAN has agreed to enhance our intra-ASEAN trade. That was discussed this morning, and the Members of Parliament are continuing the debate, but I cannot reject this wonderful opportunity. So, between Members of Parliament speaking, I’ve chosen to hear the students today.

 

6. Now, why do we place such importance on the younger generation? Because the type of training, the expertise, the capacity to affect change, the willingness to adopt some new disciplines—we have to depend on you. You can’t expect people in my generation to be as fast, to assimilate and to acquire, to have that level of acquisition of knowledge and expertise, particularly in the new sciences, new disciplines. We have what we call digitalization, artificial intelligence. We are talking about energy transition. We were not talking about this in the last many decades.

 

7. Now, so we have to depend on you. That is why Management and Science University (MSU), and many of the premier institutions, are considered by us in the government as part of our team—to give the opportunity and instill the sort of discipline and scholarship among the students. That is our expectation. So, acquisition of knowledge is a must. When asked why are you here? To acquire knowledge, assimilation of knowledge, to learn new sciences, new disciplines, new expertise, to go back and serve. And that comes the fundamental issue that we have to address.

 

8. One, assimilation of knowledge, acquisition of knowledge—it is critical for your future, your family, your society, your country. But for what? Why does one wish to acquire knowledge? This must be reflected very seriously. And I want to appeal to you, my children, to understand and appreciate this. Acquisition of knowledge to be comfortable in life is not the end. Why do you want to acquire and assimilate knowledge and sciences? It is to disseminate what is just and what is truth. That is the major challenge.

 

9. So, notwithstanding the sciences, in the MADANI framework, we talk about values, we talk about ethics, we talk about human dignity, we talk about our role to ensure that we have a fair and just society. And that is the role of the youth. And I think—and this is not new—from the days of Greek philosophy to our sages, religion, Islam, and I believe what is being encouraged in other religions too, is to ensure that men and women are people of character, dignity.

 

10. There’s a deficit now, because people talk about what is the world, what’s happening in the world. We call it post-normal times. What is post-normal times? It is a world of chaos, of contradictions. Some people talk about post-truth—truth is relative, justice is relative. You can kill some community and support another community. You can support some rogues and some dictators, and defend and rationalize your actions.

 

11. So, that is precisely the reason why we go back to the basic—the fundamental issue of what is, why are you here? Yes, acquisition and assimilation of knowledge. But remember, you are not a sacred cow. You are human beings with values, ethics. I mentioned the sacred cow because there was a brilliant thesis written by Evanna Lynch about the difference between education as just purely the acquisition of knowledge, devoid of ethics and morality. We are not training machines; we are training human beings.
12. And therefore, I would like to appeal to you: use your time wisely. We were young once. Our pop stars at that time were different. I mean, your parents, your grandparents probably remember The Beatles and Elvis Presley, Richard Nelson, Cliff Richard, etc., etc. Wow, you know them! Those were our great singers those days. Some of my colleagues even wanted to have Elvis Presley hairstyles. It’s fair—the past decade probably you have Justin Bieber or somebody. I won’t mention now. But it’s fair—that is not the issue. But never lose sight of the fundamental values. And this is where I think, I believe that ethics and religion remain relevant.

 

13. I’m not suggesting that you discard or ignore the importance of leaders, the political leaders, or your professors. No! But you must also understand that there is a trust deficit. During post-normal times, there’s a trust deficit. Young, bright students start questioning: Why have we lost our values? Why is it that we tend to be racist? Why do we decide and talk about differences, preach hatred, insult people of other faiths based on colour or belief? What is wrong with us?

 

14. So, I’m glad to see that this is a multi-religious, multi-racial institution from diverse beliefs and countries. But work together, because finally, you want this university, you want your institution, you want your discipline or faculty to succeed—then we must act as a team, irrespective of where you come from or what colour you are from. You agree with me on that?

 

15. So, let me then end with that—my philosophies, what I believe should be education. Because we are educating men—remember, it is not, as Evanna Lynch said, ‘we are not educating cows.’ Men and women are characterized differently because of their character, their values, and the respect for human dignity.

 

Arigato gozaimasu, Xie Xie Ge Wei, Rombe Nandri, kamsahamnida.

 

Now, if you don’t mind, I am going to take over the floor. If you dare challenge, please do. Now, you are free to ask any questions, and I will try to answer them.

 

Question 1: Joanne from MSU

Young people nowadays, especially from private institution often feel left out of national decision making. So, my question is how can we as a student from private institution play a role in shaping Malaysia’s future and also what is the action that government will take to involve all the voices of young people in the process?

 

Answer:

Okay then Joanne why don’t you suggest what should we do? Joanne, it is a very relevant question. Number one, she said, I was a student leader in my university. I do believe it because when I was young, I was a student leader. I said we must represent the conscience of the majority. We might fight for justice and truth. We must condemn corruption and abuse of power. That was when I was young.

Now, the next question from Joanne said, what should the government do? I’m just saying, so why don’t you give me a suggestion? I tell you Joanne, if it is a brilliant suggestion, I’ll put it on record and I will implement it immediately. What else do you think I or the government should do to bring you into the mainstream discussions?

 

Question (Continuation…)

Because I’m one of the members of MPPK (Majlis Perundingan Pelajar Kebangsaan), I currently represent the IPTS. So, maybe we can strengthen our voices in MPPK also. Because as of for now, not all members of the IPTS is involved in the MPPK.

 

Answer (Continuation…):

Dengar tu Ministry of Education. They will take action, so that they can accommodate the IPTS that has been left out. Point number one, agreed.

 

Question 2:

“I’m Vishnu from Universiti Tenaga Nasional. Today, I have a question regarding the tariffs, it’s a fair move? But Datuk Seri I would like to ask, as a student coming from a B40 background, as a student leader, and also a youth representing this nation how is it going to impact us, these tariffs? And boleh saya berbahasa Melayu sedikit? Sebagai cadangan untuk tarif ini apa kata syarikat-syarikat di Malaysia boleh joint venture dengan syarikat-syarikat di Amerika Syarikat sebagai langkah kita avoid tarif ini, if it can be implemented? Itu soalan pertama, dan yang kedua, apa kata kita boleh gunakan tarif ini terhadap barangan buatan Malaysia? Semangat menggunakan barangan buatan Malaysia. Itu saja soalan dan cadangan saya.

 

Answer 2:

“Good question, Vishnu. Rombe Nandri. Now, you see the economic and political philosopher Schumpeter, he traces the experience of countries during tribulations or economic crisis and he uses his phrase ‘Gale of Creative Destruction’. A period when there were issues, problems like world wars, deflation, or now, tariffs. So, you either become pessimistic or virtually helpless, or you create something new.

 

Somewhat, the old order is destroyed, half-destroyed, or cracked. That’s why I say, ‘gale of creative destruction’. Use destruction to be more creative. Now, you suggested something smart, what? Then we try and use our local expertise.

 

President Trump said no solar should be exported to America, because there are a lot Chinese companies based here but there are other companies too. That’s why our instruction is all schools, universities, and hospitals must use Malaysian-made solar panels. That’s one, which means we can probably mitigate, at least partially, the potential problems we may face. That’s what I mean by creative destruction and then of course buy local products as far as possible.

 

I think the question whether it gives impact or not it’s too early to say, because President Trump gave a 90-day reprieve and what is our largest export to the United States? Semiconductor chips, E&E (Electrical & Electronics), a very large portion 60% of our products around RM130–140 billion are exported to the United States. If they decide to say “no” to all that, we may have a problem. But for now, semiconductors and E&E are excluded. Now, say they are partly included then we’ll have to take quick measures to promote and strengthen our industries here.

 

And what have we done in the last two years since I took over as Prime Minister well, in the past two and a half years, we’ve worked to open up new markets. I’ve been travelling. We’ve opened new markets other than India, China, Korea, Japan. We’ve increased trade within ASEAN. We’ve increased our relations with other countries for example, Egypt, somewhat new. In the last two years, we’ve increased investment there by 34% because it’s a huge country.

 

At the end of May, ASEAN will hold a conference here in Kuala Lumpur, involving all ASEAN leaders and GCC countries Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and also China. This is a special session.

 

We’ve been engaging with the United States. We are now fast-tracking the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the EU (European Union). From last month, we’ve managed to export our palm oil and related products to the UK with no tariffs, because we have signed FTA with United Kingdom.

 

President Xi Jinping was here last two weeks, we had serious discussions. We signed 36 or 38 new MoUs covering all areas and fields. So, we have to be fast, quick, efficient, and smart. We must tap the best brains to deal with these issues. I agree with you.

 

Do we anticipate some problems? Yes. The IMF’s world growth outlook last month has been quite concerning because all countries beginning with the United States, are seeing a downward growth trajectory. It may impact Malaysia a little, but then we should strive.

 

That’s why I use the term ‘domestic economic resilience’. Our people have to work hard. You want to survive? You want to condemn our nation? What is your choice? Your choice is to survive. Then we have to work harder from the Prime Minister to the ministers, to the rector and vice chancellor, to the officers and the students. We work hard, and we challenge any attempt to disrupt our progress.

 

And we do that continuously, I think we may be able to survive, but otherwise domestic policy is important. What have we done? I started with this issue of governance, tatakelola – good governance. I know some people hate it, but we don’t have a choice. Malaysia is not a poor country, but billions have been squandered. And you want to become rich? Become a Prime Minister? You want to be a billionaire? Be a finance minister? But it’s wrong. Why did I choose at least for now two and half years not to take a salary as Prime Minister. I do take a salary as a Member of Parliament but it’s just to convey a message.

 

Not every Prime Minister or leader must squander wealth, cheat, and become super rich because of that position. We must stop this nonsense and we must give a clear message and follow proper tender procedures.

 

Is it necessarily popular? No. Because sometimes we take action, and those who are billionaires they use their resources to attack you. They use social media, they use political parties, NGOs, civil societies to abuse and attack you.

 

You must have the courage of conviction, the tenacity of purpose, and belief in what you’re doing. and InshaAllah, we will succeed.

All right—next question?

 

Soalan 3:

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh, salam sejahtera dan Salam Malaysia MADANI.

Nama diberi Ahmad Izhad Hamzid bin Faza Anwar. Saya merupakan pelajar Tahun 2 Kejuruteraan Petroleum dan saya mewakili Presiden Student Representative Council Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP).

Jadi Dato’ Seri, saya telah mengikuti perjalanan Dato’ Seri daripada kecil dan saya lihat Dato’ Seri telah banyak berintegrasi rapat dengan tokoh-tokoh moden Islam seperti Professor Ismail Raji al Faruqi dan sebagainya, yang mana tokoh-tokoh ini sangat menekankan peranan ilmu, kepimpinan dan juga demokrasi dalam pembinaan tamadun. Saya percaya perkara ini terserlah daripada usaha Datuk Seri dalam membina Malaysia yang disebut sebagai Malaysia MADANI.

Dalam konteks ini juga, Dato’ Seri pernah memimpin Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM). Maka, bagaimana dalam era konteks digital sekarang ini, Dato’ Seri melihat kesinambungan nilai-nilai ini dalam membentuk mahasiswa yang bukan sahaja berpendidikan tinggi dan berilmu, tetapi juga berjiwa bangsa dan mampu memberikan peranan besar dalam membina negara dan bangsa?

Izinkan juga saya selitkan satu cadangan kepada Malaysia MADANI, yang mana saya rasakan perkara ini juga merupakan suara-suara mahasiswa. Sebab apa? Sekarang ini kita lihat kita sudah pun ada inisiatif seperti FlySiswa yang memudahkan pelajar-pelajar dan mahasiswa dari Sabah dan Sarawak untuk pulang ke rumah masing-masing. Cadangan saya ialah agar FlySiswa ini turut diperluaskan sebagai TransSiswa, yang mana turut melibatkan pengangkutan darat, air dan sebagainya, terutamanya bagi kami pelajar-pelajar di Semenanjung, Dato’ Seri. Saya dengan rendah diri memohon ihsan daripada Kerajaan MADANI untuk mempertimbangkan cadangan ini. Itu sahaja. Terima kasih.

 

Answer:

I will have to do it in bilingual because many of you foreign students need me to respond in English. Ataupun boleh saya jawab Bahasa Melayu? Semua faham? Anyone of you are not able or to conversate in Bahasa Melayu? Oh, it is quite a number. But it your fault. Why didn’t you learn Bahasa? (joking). Alright, saya akan respond dulu dalam bahasa kepada saya akan summarize dalam bahasa Inggeris. Terima kasih.

 

Professor Ismail Raji al Faruqi merupakan seorang sarjana yang memberikan penekanan khusus kepada apa yang dia sebut sebagai ‘Rise of the Ummah’. Dalam dunia yang penuh pancaroba, kegelapan kerana kedangkalan ilmu termasuk Islam sendiri. Dalam ilmu sehingga tidak dapat mencapai kejayaan kerana ketandusan pemikiran. Tidak ada keupayaan menerima idea baru dan tunduk kepada sistem asing, tidak ada upaya untuk membina apa yang disebut sebagai kekuatan asli.

 

Jadi beliau kemudian menggagaskan Institut Pemikiran Islam Antarabangsa, yang saya juga turut menjadi salah seorang pengasasnya masa saya amat muda sekali dan ini kita cuba juga tekankan kalau saya dalam ABIM iaitu menekankan keperluan pencerahan, kesedaran, tumpuan kepada ilmu yang pelbagai.

 

Ada orang salah faham, dia kata ini hanya pendekatan dengan sarjana-sarjana Islam, tak semestinya. Semasa saya muda karya yang besar seperti Frantz Fanon, ‘The Wretched of the Earth’ dan juga umpamanya karya-karya oleh Muhammad Iqbal, bukan saja Asrar-i Khudi, Javid Nama, tapi ‘Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam’. Kemudian Malik Bennabi, pemikir Algeria yang bercakap soal colonisablity maknanya orang merdeka, negara sudah merdeka, intelektualnya hebat, tetapi pemikirannya itu pemikiran terjajah. Dia tidak mampu berfikir luar daripada kerangka pemikiran yang terjajah dan ini juga kita dapat lihat kesan di negara kita, di kalangan saudara. Dia cakap itu semuanya dari teks dan pemikiran yang dirangka oleh orang asing. Kalau ada baik yang benar ya, tetapi jangan kita terperangkap.

 

Ini yang juga dikupas oleh Profesor Hussein Alatas apabila beliau sebut ‘captive minds’. Minda yang terperangkap, bicara soal ekonomi, bicara soal pembangunan, bicara soal pendidikan, mesti acuannya acuan Barat, tidak ada yang lain. Ini masalah. Jadi sebab itu perlu pendidikan, pencerahan, penguasaan ilmu. Tapi kalau penguasaan ilmu dengan sikap yang penuh dengan kebencian, tak setuju sahaja terus kafir, munafik dan bangkitkan kebencian, tak ke mana. Dia mesti bawa pendedahan dan ilmu ini dengan apa yang ditekankan dalam prinsip agama kita. Apa dia? “Bil-ḥikmat wal-maw ‘iẓatil-ḥasanah, wa jādilhum billatī hiya aḥsan”, dengan bijaksana, dengan perkataan yang baik, dengan menarik orang, bukan dengan menanam kebencian dan menghukum. Baru belajar Islam dua bulan, terus dia pun ikut hukum orang. Ini masalahnya. Jadi sebab itu saya kata pencerahan ilmu itu penting.

 

Now saying that the necessity to acquire knowledge, as I said in the beginning, is not to be enslaved. Enslavement does not mean that you are slaves or you are the colonial subjects, but your strength scheme of thought is so captive to the others, you don’t have the capacity to think anew, to reflect independently. And that’s what I referred to our great sociologist, Hussein Alatas, we talked about, we referred to the captive mind in development studies. You thought the development must be a Western concept; notion sometimes completely irrelevant. Our societies differ, level of understanding, development is different. A peculiar problem of the Dayak heartland, the Ibans and the Malay, remote villages and the estate, the Indian estate workers or the Chinese quarters, different, must be handled wisely.

 

That’s what I referred to, the need to rethink, reflect intelligently and yet independently, and not to be subjected to a particular prescription suggested by others. This also reflect has relevance to the understanding of Islam. Why is it Islam, which is a religion that promotes ihsan (compassion) and rahmah (raḥmatan li al-‘ālamīn), sometimes understood in a very competitive, rancorous, vicious manner, full of distrust and hatred and divisiveness? There’s apparent contradiction.

 

So, it is our duty therefore not to be subjected by this, so-called scholars, but to have this readiness capacity to learn and have that wisdom. The acquisition to acquire knowledge. And he made reference to one great scholar of the past, Professor Ismail Raji al Faruqi. Then he of course, after all that, comes to about why not flysiswa.

 

You talk about Flysiswa and then you talk about sampan. No, I’m joking. I will discuss this with the Minister of Transport. Nak pergi mana yang perlu bantuan ni? Awak kata, what about people in Semenanjung? Why do we give some preferences to Sabah dan Sarawak? It’s expensive, you know, particularly during this festive period. And, you know, some of these flights are just atrocious. So, we chose therefore to support them at least to redeem part of their problems.

 

Now what you are saying is now Anwar Ibrahim as Prime Minister, you want to be loved and appreciated by the young, then please allow them to go back home without having to pay anything. Where am I going to get the money to do this? But if there are specific areas where we can help, we will do, okay. I can promise you one thing, Insya-Allah we’ll look at it. What we need to do is to make sure that the price is reasonable. You know, people don’t exploit and extort at a time. A price, for example, should be RM20, may come before Hari Raya become RM40. It doesn’t make sense. So, I think that sort of regulations may be introduced to curtail this exorbitant increase. Alright.

 

Question 4: UniKL (Mohamad Anas bin Ishak)

Sekarang terdapat banyak pergolakan kuasa yang berlaku di seluruh dunia. Yang ingin saya perincikan adalah lebih kepada perubahan ekonomi yang mungkin sekarang kita lihat berubah daripada Barat ke negara Asia. Jadi mungkin apakah perancangan daripada pihak Kerajaan untuk memastikan Malaysia berada di tempat yang sentiasa dipandang dan tidak dipinggirkan sebagai negara kecil, namun sentiasa berhati besar.

Kemudian yang kedua, jika kita ingin meletakkan Malaysia sebagai negara yang sudah tentu hebat, apakah ciri-ciri yang mungkin Dato’ Seri sendiri lihat yang patut ada di setiap jiwa belia yang berada di Malaysia. Kerana pada hemat saya sendiri, untuk melahirkan seorang pemimpin ataupun belia yang produktif, kita perlu berikan mungkin sedikit pendedahan kepada belia ini kerana apa yang saya lihat adanya program Felo Perdana yang memberikan pendedahan daripada Kementerian Perpaduan sendiri kepada pihak Menteri. Namun sekiranya insentif ini turut diberikan kepada pelajar-pelajar atau belia yang ada di Malaysia sekarang, saya pasti dan percaya pendedahan yang mungkin sedikit tapi boleh memberikan impak kepada pelajar-pelajar ini untuk terus memacu Malaysia sebagai negara yang unggul pada masa akan datang.

 

Answer:

Pertama soalan kalau dulunya kuasa besar ketenteraan dan ekonomi itu hanya di Barat. Mulanya United Kingdom, sekarang Amerika. Tapi sekarang nampak keadaan berubah juga dengan perkembangan negara China, khususnya. Bagi kita itu suatu perkembangan yang positif. Malaysia ambil pendekatan sepertimana yang diterima oleh negara-negara ASEAN yang kita sebut keadaan pertengahan (centrality) untuk mengadakan hubungan yang baik dengan semua negara.

 

Tentunya kalau tanya negara China itu adalah jiran dan kerjasama yang baik dalam banyak bidang itu tidak menghalang kita untuk terus meningkatkan kerjasama itu dan itu pendekatan kita sekarang. Jadi sebab itu saudara lihat sementara hubungan tradisional kita dengan Amerika dari segi perdagangan dan pelaburan itu tinggi, kita juga memberi penekanan yang sangat kuat kepada negara China dalam pelbagai bidang. Apa lagi bila pimpinan negara China itu lebih dekat dengan kita. Umpamanya bulan lalu Presiden Xi Jinping ada di sini. Akhir Mei, Premier Li Qiang akan bersama dengan pemimpin-pemimpin negara teluk (GCC) dan ASEAN.

 

Jadi dia ambil sikap yang sangat lunak dengan kita. Jadi kita sebagai tuan rumah tentunya menerima baik. Jadi kita harus adakan strategi itu, perluaskan dagang dan pelaburan dalam negara-negara lain.

 

Kemudian, belia bagaimana yang kita harus pupuk? Seperti mana saya sebut tadi, mestilah menimba ilmu secukupnya, membaca seluasnya, menilai dengan sabar dan bijak. Tidak pantas menghukum dan menghina orang. Malaysia ini negara pelbagai kaum, pelbagai agama, Islam tetap agama persekutuan, orang Melayu Bumiputera tetap majoriti. Dasar-dasar yang termaktub dalam perlembagaan itu kita tetap pertahankan. Tetapi ini bukan alasan untuk kita melihat orang dengan penuh syak wasangka dan kebencian. Saya lihat kadang-kadang bila dapat laporan daripada media sosial, tengok orang cuba menakutkan, melampau. Ini saya anggap satu tahap yang akan merosakkan kita, dan saya lebih kesal kalau di antara penyokong-penyokong itu di kalangan orang yang terpelajar. Jadi saya tanya kamu belajar apa? Profesor kamu anjur apa? Kamu baca buku mana? Mengapa kamu mempertahankan kejahilan? Mengapa kamu memuliakan orang yang merendahkan akal budi dan menghina manusia? Itu mesti dijawab.

 

Jadi kita mesti angkat anak-anak muda yang punyai daya tahan mental yang kuat dan cinta kepada negara dengan nilai. Sebab itu saya kata nilai penting. Dalam MADANI ini nilai sangat penting. Ya semua orang mahu membangun. Saya selalu sebut dalam bidang pendidikan, menggapai langit, disiplin baru, AI, digital, canggih semua. Tapi jangan lupa mesti mengakar ke bumi. Menggapai langit tapi mengakar ke bumi. Apa yang di bumi itu? Nilai, budaya, akidah, akhlak. Jadi keduanya dirangkul. Itu menyebabkan kita itu ‘walaqad karram na bani adam’, barulah bangkit karamah insaniah.

 

Now, tentang Felo Perdana dan kemudahan-kemudahan itu kita sedang bincang. Tidak semua akan jadi Felo Perdana, tetapi kita akan bincang supaya dapat pendedahan dalam program-program latihan di mana kita ada peluang menemui Sarjana daripada pelbagai disiplin, pemimpin-pemimpin, Menteri, Timbalan Menteri dan ini akan sedang diuruskan melalui Akademi Kenegaraan dan lain-lain.

 

Now short summary in English, the questions relates to the shift now in terms of power, geo-political development between the West and the East, the United States or China. We take a position of what we call centrality in Malaysia and in ASEAN. We engage with all, we befriend all countries, it is open trade, it is a trading nation.

 

But next question is cumulatively as I said, United States is still number one in term of investor and trade in Malaysia. But our relationship with China is very close. Firstly, it is a neighbour. Secondly, the position and attitude taken by the change of leadership is not condescending. It has been very friendly and very engaging and we therefore as a country, do show our profound appreciation towards that. Then, the next question is about youth. What you need, what do you expect from the youth? I said number one, you have to acquire knowledge, you have to be patient. I mean, I can understand you have strong views. When I was young, I was not so patient. But you must present some ideas.

 

As I said, we represent the conscious of majority. We know, we try and find out what is right. We do not condone excesses or corruption. Corruption can be corruption in terms of acquisition of wealth in an illegal manner. Corruption of the mind can be preaching hatred, insulting people, casting aspersions against people of different colour or race. That to me is not acceptable. The young must than learn to accept the fact. If you want to succeed as a nation, we have to be more inclusive. We want to succeed as a nation, we have to instill the correct value. What is human dignity?

 

What is just? What is fair? Some people “oh, we have to be fair, we have to grant or accept those who have been very successful based on purely merit.” I said yes, fair, that is partly true but is that the whole truth? John Rawls the political economist said what is justice? Justice is fairness. You can’t say the best school in the country in Kuala Lumpur and you want to compete with the school in Kapit and hulu Kelantan based on merit. There is a rational to defend merit but it has to be fair. I have to view differently.

 

You have the best school, the best equipment, the best teachers, the best tuition and you want us to be fair and say just and compete with the most remote, among the poorest. You will increase the gap between the rich and the poor if you do not cater for what is termed as fairness. That is what why affirmative action is necessary. Now last question on Felo Perdana, a scheme to help expose the students to some facilities and we will try to do it through some sort of any programs.

 

Question 5:

My name is Vijaya Kumar Jaganathan, I’m a part time student in Master of Program Management program at Open University Malaysia, OUM Shah Alam and I work full time in the manufacturing sector. Was working in China for 20 years and now I’m in Malaysia since 2025. Chosen OUM to start my masters that I left 20 years ago, as someone who both studying and working in project management, I’ve seen first hand challenges faced by our industry especially when it comes to workforce issues. The question is would the government consider reviewing the current policies and foreign work permit extensions and reducing the levy imposed so that we can stay afloat to stay competitive and especially in the face of economic recovery? Thank you very much.

 

Answer 5:

You’re suggesting that we should bring more foreign workers or less?  Less, yeah, let’s precedented the policy now, we need for the plantations for example, but the other sector we have to reduce substantially. And the real, total reliance of foreign workers will render us less competitive and slow in automation and people take things easy. And therefore, I agree with you, we will have to do that. We have started actually limiting, for now no new workers except to replace the old ones, for a start. But the problem is we are too rigid tough. Then you can see the palm oil production have stunted because of the lack of workers.

Question 6:

Hello everyone and Assalamualaikum, my name is Shaian and I am from Pakistan. Today I am representing Asia Pacific University. I am very glad for having this opportunity and my question is for YAB Dato’ Seri; with many countries moving away from using US dollar, and I wanted to ask how Malaysia is planning to reduce its reliance on U.S. dollar, especially in foreign reserves and trade within the regions of ASEAN countries and global context. Thank you so much.

 

Answer:

Thank you. Well, incidentally, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called me yesterday. He’s due to visit Malaysia on Friday. But due to the tension between India and Pakistan, he is forced to postpone the visit. So, I told him that we wish well — we wish India and Pakistan able to resolve the conflict amicably and detain peace in the region. We condemn, of course, any form of atrocities and terrorism. We have to find out the root cause and who are responsible.

Now on the issue — the dependence on the dollar. The dollar will remain a very important currency, no question about it, but the total dependence will be at a price. So, what Malaysia has done through what is called a Chiang Mai Initiative is to encourage the use of local currency in our trade. With Thailand, we have used 20% Ringgit and Baht; with Indonesia, 20% Ringgit and Rupiah; and with China, Chinese Yuan and also Ringgit — 20%. But 20% with China means it’s close to somewhat quite substantial. I can’t recall offhand. It’s huge, because you trade with China. So that is an important beginning.

 

But otherwise, we are still stuck to the dependence on the dollar. But we have taken measures here. That’s why I said domestic resilience is important — because through domestic resilience, the dependence on a foreign currency will be less. But, alhamdulillah, at least for now, Malaysian currency is about the best in Asia, is strengthening, and it is something of, you know, a positive sign. Alright.

 

 

Question 7: Amelia Syafinaz (MSU)

It has been four years since the Five-Point Consensus have been introduced in ASEAN and till this day, the Myanmar crisis is still ongoing and we must be aware of this. And because of this, now that Malaysia is chairing ASEAN under your leadership, how do you think you will enforce this Five-Point Consensus in ASEAN to help our brothers and sisters in Myanmar?

 

Answer:

Why do you choose to ask me difficult questions? I have not had coffee or tea yet (in joking manner). Anyways, it’s an issue close to the hearts of ASEAN. Now, for the first time since probably a decade I went to Bangkok. Other than the short bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister and also Dr. Thaksin, it is also to meet first time Prime Minister Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the Military Junta. And then the following morning, I met the Prime Minister of the National Unity Government. So, we met both. But because the Five-Point Consensus, I then confined myself to discussing the issue of humanitarian assistance.

The earthquake was devastating and Malaysia has opted to cease. First, we sent our SMART team, then there’s a field hospital, there’s a military field hospital now functioning. I just got a note today that asking me whether they should extend a bit more or not. I say as long as there’s ceasefire, we can extend and they’ve asked for additional medicine. I said yes, we can help. Malaysia is not a very rich country, but it is our responsibility to help our friends and neighbours in distress.

 

But two conditions we have imposed. Both I mentioned to the Prime Minister Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and also Prime Minister National Unity government. Number one, observe the ceasefire, stop the shooting, stop the violence, both parties. Now we are also trying to engage the third force we’re neither with the military government nor with the NUG. Again, stop this ceasefire and make sure that humanitarian aid is not discriminated against any group. Both have agreed. Once the ceasefire, number two that assistance should cover all. So, that is being done.

 

And just now about 1:30pm somewhat, I received a call from President Prabowo Subianto, President of Indonesia, who happens to be meeting former Prime Minister Hun Sen, the President of Nation Assembly of Cambodia and asking me about the development on Myanmar and suggesting whether they should pursue. I said of course, all leaders of ASEAN should go and meet these leaders and give the same message. Number one, ceasefire. Number two, be more inclusive and humanitarian assistance should cover everybody. Because the sooner they accept these broad parameters under the Five-Point Consensus, the better is it for ASEAN. So, that’s a position.

 

There is of course some very positive development as compared to last year for example. Now, we are able to engage with both and in fact the three parties and there is ceasefire. The ceasefire is supposed to end 15th of May. I have encouraged them please extend beyond 15th of May, otherwise our military hospital could pack up and come back. Insya-Allah they will hopefully abide, all parties with an extended for another month and you can stay for another month.

 

Meanwhile, I think I have also sorted the assistance of both Dr. Thaksin and then now the former Prime Minister Hun Sen and now President Prabowo to continue to engage and it becomes like a ASEAN consensus.

 

Question 8:

Selamat petang, Dato’ Seri. Saya Kee dari Multimedia University, Cyberjaya. Dato’ Seri, saya ingin menyuarakan, ramai anak muda terutama mahasiswa mahasiswi yang ingin terlibat dalam proses penyumbangan idea untuk pembangunan negara dan juga mungkin ASEAN, terutamanya Malaysia sebagai Pengerusi ASEAN tahun ini. Kami juga berharap kami dapat terlibat dalam proses ini dan untuk memberikan suara-suara kami kepada pihak Kerajaan.

 

Saya ingin mencadangkan pihak Kerajaan untuk mengadakan sebuah forum atau platform untuk menerima input dan idea daripada mahasiswa, dan kami juga ingin terlibat dalam program-program sempena kepengerusian ASEAN tahun ini.

Dato’ Seri, kami sebagai mahasiswa juga terjejas dengan peningkatan kos sara hidup dan sekarang ini menyebabkan ada mahasiswa yang terjejas dari segi kewangan dan mengganggu proses pembelajaran mereka.

Saya mewakili suara-suara mahasiswa untuk mencari pihak Dato’ Seri untuk pertimbangkan untuk kita mewujudkan bantuan inisiatif pemberian tunai e-wallet kepada mahasiswa semula, kerana bantuan ini akan begitu baik untuk mengurangkan kos sara hidup kami. Saya amat berharap pihak Dato’ Seri dapat pertimbangkan cadangan kami ini. Sekian, terima kasih.

 

 

Jawapan:
Baik, cadangan pertama itu saya akan minta Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi beri ruang bagaimana boleh adakan beberapa kaedah di mana perbincangan dengan wakil-wakil pelajar lebih berkesan.

 

Dan keduanya, soal e-wallet itu kita nanti timbang tengok macam mana, boleh tambah sikit, kita tambah banyak juga — bagi buku, untuk e-wallet dan sebagainya.

 

Saya tak boleh fokus sebab bila you tengah bercakap, orang belakang you buat begini, begitu, begini.

 

Question 9:

 

Hai, terima kasih Yang Berhormat Dato’ Seri. Nama saya Sarah dan saya merupakan pelajar dalam bidang AI dari Asia Pacific University (APU). Dan hari ini saya ingin menanyakan soalan kepada Dato’ Seri, apakah penyumbangan murid-murid seperti saya yang belajar AI boleh buat untuk membantu dengan kemajuan AI di Malaysia?

 

Answer 9:

Seperti mana kita tahu, AI, kita telah bagi penekanan tinggi kita dah mulakan dengan Fakulti AI di UTP dan semua universiti seperti saudara-saudara tahu sudah menekankan AI dan saya ucap tahniah kerana sudah Dr. Syukri kerana MSU juga berikan penekanan yang sama.

 

Jadi bagi saya tentu AI itu sangat kritikal. Ini seperti seolah-olah zaman revolusi industri mesin, kemudian komputer itu dah jadi suatu perkakasan dengan keperluan yang sangat mendesak. Jadi saya usulkan, saudara menguasai bidang itu sangat diperlukan dan kita kekurangan puluh ribu jurutera dan kepakaran AI.

 

Jadi kalau saudara-saudara ada kemahiran, potensinya sangat besar. Saya cadangkan supaya tumpu dan insya-Allah ada masa untuk kita serapkan dalam sistem semua dalam negara kita. Itu yang penting untuk AI.

 

Cuma untuk yang AI ini satu hal yang saya nak sebut. Saya tanya tokoh AI, Satya Microsoft, Jason, NVIDIA, AMD, dan saya tanya AI. Sebab AI ini akan memuntahkan ilmu yang masuk dan dia hadam dan curahkan semula balik. Jadi bagaimana penyelesaiannya?

 

Penyelesaian ialah anak-anak kita harus punyai keupayaan untuk mampu memasukkan ilmu, ataupun apps supaya mampu, bila muntah itu, muntah dengan fahaman kita.

 

And this, interesting enough, is also the response of the top world experts. Jason and Satya Microsoft, many others, Ruth of Google in my exchanges with them. That’s what they say.

 

Because right now, the AI has, of course has expertise and will formulate ideas based on certain values. So, it is important for us to master the knowledge not just the follow through but also indigenous ways to come up with some other solutions based on our values, our history, our culture.

 

So, I think this is more a challenge not only the technical, scientific expertise, the code that you are talking about but also in biding it with the correct values, history, culture, arts of our society. So, because after all, it is supposed to be at least attempt to replace human views or ingenuity.

 

Jadi itulah sebabnya mengapa saya fikir, saya pasti percaya AI itu penting kita berikan keutamaan dalam bidang ini. Dan saya ada minta umpamanya KPT itu menyelaraskan kegiatan ini dan mendapatkan kekuatan sama ada daripada universiti awam atau universiti swasta.

 

Satu perubahan yang berlaku sekarang ialah kesediaan kita untuk memilih dan mendapat sumbangan yang tidak terikat. Kalau kita kata penyelidikan atau research, dia tidak hanya terikat kepada universiti awam. Mana sahaja yang ada keupayaan istimewa, sama ada awam atau swasta, yang sedia bekerjasama, mereka harus dirangkul dalam satu kekuatan.

 

So, my children, thank you very much a wonderful opportunity.