Young people must right now be informed about their own responsibility, to make sure that wherever they are placed, whatever position they hold, whether they are in the public or private sector, they must subscribe first of all to high standards of integrity, accountability, and sense of responsibility. Secondly, they must put national interests before self-interest. There is no point in being self-important in a country with problems. If our country has gone to the dogs, there is no pride in that.
education, religion, and healthcare, for example, should remain free of politics. When people start being political, there would inevitably be a hidden agenda. Unfortunately, in Malaysia, everything is politicised, and it is getting worse.
DR. MOHD SHAH WAH I D You served for a very long time in the Cabinet. Can you comment on the Prime Ministers who you worked with?
TA N SR I R AFIDAH A Z I Z I served three Prime Ministers: Tun Hussein, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah. My work with Tun Abdul Razak was mainly at UMNO-level.
They all contributed in their own way to the country. Personalities have got nothing to do with their performance. They all were able to perform well because they had good teams in the Cabinet and government backing them, along with government officers who were dedicated, and understood what public service is all about.
DR. MOHD SHAH WAH I D What do you believe is Malaysia’ s greatest strength?
TA N SR I R AFIDAH A Z I Z It lies in our young population who have not yet experienced the bitterness of May 13, who have not yet experienced terrorism, bad recessions and so on. They have entered the world during an era when everything is good. These young people must right now be informed about their own responsibility, to make sure that wherever they are placed, whatever position they hold, whether they are in the public or private sector, they must subscribe first of all to high standards of integrity, accountability, and sense of responsibility. Secondly, they must put national interests before self-interest. There is no point in being self-important in a country with problems. If our country has gone to the dogs, there is no pride in that.
If we can nurture the younger generation to go into politics with the right core values, they can improve whatever is wrong with this country especially as they are enabled by technology. Unless we nurture our young well, the country will slide.
So let’ s return to the culture where we always give our best, and place public interest above self-interest. The young must understand that it’ s now their turn( to lead). While the elders are making a mess of the country, they should learn of the causes and possible remedies. They should also not repeat the same mess that their predecessors made. Let the young people be the saving grace for this country.
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