KUALA SELANGOR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim wants youths to rise as the new force of Madani Malaysia by rejecting old-fashioned ideas which are detrimental to the nation.
He said this was his challenge to the young people, in whom he has placed great confidence.
"Smart Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban, Kadazan children rise as the force of the nation to defend our rights, values, moral options, truth and justice, stand up as the new strength of Madani society," he said when giving a lecture on Educational Reform for Malaysia's Future Wellbeing at Unisel's Kursi Siddiq Fadzil Distinguished Lecture programme at its Bestari Jaya campus here today.
The Madani concept which was introduced by Anwar on Jan 19 is based on six pillars: sustainability, prosperity, innovation, respect, trust and compassion.
At the event, the prime minister also announced an RM1 million allocation for Kursi Siddiq Fadzil to encourage efforts and research in line with the works of the late Prof Datuk Dr Siddiq Fadzil who was an influential academic.
Last year, the Selangor government launched the Kursi Siddiq Fadzil at Unisel with an allocation of RM1 million to promote discourse in harmony and moderation.
An additional RM4 million would be allocated to the chair in appreciation of the academici who contributed greatly to the country in elevating the Malay language and Islam.
Siddiq Fadzil, who died on Aug 31, 2021, was among others, the former chairman of the board of Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, president of the Islamic Student Association of the University of Malaya, panel member of Malaysian Islamic Economic Development Foundation and chairman of the Darul Ehsan Institute.
Meanwhile, Anwar said in efforts to spread the message of Islam, the Muslim community should be preaching instead of punishing others, especially those who do not share the same beliefs and views.
"We are the callers, the preachers... let's not take over the duties of the kadi or judge by punishing others just because they do not agree with us or because they are from another group or party as how we see on social media like TikTok," he said.
Anwar said the late Siddiq, who was his friend, was very much affected by situations like this, especially among young people who are easily influenced by hardline beliefs. -- BERNAMA