True National Development Must Be Rooted In Humanitarian Values – PM Anwar

MERSING, Sept 13 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has stressed that the development of an advanced nation must be founded on humanitarian values such as morality, discipline and compassion.

He said the true measure of a nation’s success lies in its humanitarian values, not solely in its economic achievements, digital technology or artificial intelligence.

“We are proud of knowledge and excellence in education, we are proud of skills, but we must be even prouder in nurturing the values of human dignity,” he said.

As such, he said that the humanitarian values emphasised in the Scout Movement, such as discipline, skills, and brotherhood, must be instilled in life because humanity cannot be shaped by machines or artificial intelligence.

“Malaysia, as a MADANI nation, is indeed determined to drive economic growth, to master digital technology, new energy and artificial intelligence (AI), but what we want to nurture is the human spirit.

"Humans cannot be shaped by machines alone… they are shaped through morality, discipline, compassion among friends, family, schoolmates, and across the various races and religions in our country,” he said when opening the 27th Johor Scouts General Assembly (PAPJ27) at Pantai Tanjung Leman here today.

Also present were Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi and Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Dr Johari Abdul. 

He said the Islamic principle of compassion towards all beings must also be upheld, as without it people would become greedy and exploit the environment, including through rampant deforestation.

Touching on social issues such as bullying in schools, Anwar said such behaviour contradicts true humanitarian values.

The Prime Minister also announced an allocation of RM100,000 for Scouts Malaysia to support the success of the camping programme.

“For this camp… I am announcing RM100,000. I will try, by Monday at the latest (to have this allocation approved) because we do not want to delay it,” he said.

He also expressed his appreciation to scouts from within and outside the country, including Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong and several international delegations, for participating in PAPJ27, which he described as a testament to friendship across borders.

PAPJ27, which runs from today until Sept 17, brings together more than 4,000 scouts from across Malaysia and neighbouring countries as a platform to strengthen discipline, unity and friendship.

-- BERNAMA