LEADERS must not steal, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad told a gathering of students today.

Leaders must have good values and not take what is not theirs as this will cause their downfall, he added without naming anyone.

“Things that don’t belong to you, grows in you, and that will be your downfall. I think you have seen this thing happening around you.

“You know what happens when you take things that aren’t yours. I’m not making reference to anybody, it’s a general statement,” he said, drawing laughter from the audience.

The prime minister was speaking at a gathering of students at the Malaysian Student Leaders Summit XII in Kuala Lumpur organised by the United Kingdom and Eire Council of Malaysian Students (UKEC).

Dr Mahathir said good leaders would have a ripple effect to those around them, and help to motivate and build up future leaders with good values.

“The leader is important. Many of us aspire to be leaders but we have to develop good qualities first.

“Because of the ripples it causes, others will benefit and those at the edge of the ripple will themselves become leaders and also cause ripples that benefit others,” he said.

The Bersatu chairman cited the Japanese as hardworking citizens and would make sacrifices to succeed.

He said the Japanese had an ancient ritual where they would take their own lives due to shame of not succeeding for the country.

“I do not know in Malaysia if we have sense of shame because our sense of shame is when we are badly dressed or caught stealing something.

“Our sense of shame is not always the same. You should feel the sense of shame when you failed to do something.” – August 11, 2018.