Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar stated that the people of our country must unite and focus on enhancing economic and educational quality to restore the country's economic capacity and social strength.
He said that some in the Muslim world are helpless, experiencing bombings every day, with many children being killed, simply because the countries are poor and do not focus on education and technology.
He pointed out that we must therefore focus on strengthening economic and educational quality to restore the country's economic capacity, otherwise no matter how loudly we cry out, we will not be noticed.
He mentioned that during the ASEAN meeting he chaired in Vietnam yesterday, the topics discussed were about "basic rules". If everyone adheres to basic rules, issues such as racial discrimination, colonization, and the events in Gaza and Palestine would not occur in the world.
Anwar expressed these views on Thursday during a student interaction session at Albukhary International University in Alor Setar.
He encouraged university students to not only work hard to acquire knowledge but also to possess wisdom and empathy to bring about change for society, the country, and the world.
He mentioned Professor Miller from Harvard University criticizing Harvard as a "soulless elite university". Professor Miller criticized that although Harvard has top-notch faculty and students, it lacks a "soul".
He said Professor Miller pointed out that Harvard students are not concerned about issues such as racial discrimination, exclusion, and human rights exploitation happening outside.
“Professor Miller questioned why a top university provides high-quality education, yet students lack wisdom, empathy, and compassion?”
Therefore, Anwar stated that what is learned in university is not only knowledge but also the wisdom to make correct decisions.
He said that students acquire knowledge to equip themselves for better welfare and to face the outside society; however, the outside world is different from the classroom, as it is full of challenges.
He mentioned that nowadays, one can access vast amounts of information through online platforms such as ChatGPT and Google, but not all information equals knowledge. A person needs the wisdom to distinguish right from wrong, which stems from a person's faith, character, and morals.
He said that Albukhary International University has made great efforts in this regard, committed to providing quality education for students.