MALAYSIAN youth must learn to be more independent and rely less on the government, said Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“We have become government-dependent and don’t do things for ourselves. We must first ask ‘What can I do for myself?’.

“If we have that kind of spirit, then we will want to be independent, even of the government. Then we are going to succeed,” the prime minister told some 150 youth at a forum this morning.

He said the government could provide infrastructure but ultimately, youth needed to work hard to be less dependent on the government.

“(JF) Kennedy used to say, ‘Ask not what your country can do for you but ask what you can do for your country’.

“But we are not asking you to do anything for the government. Look after yourselves first by improving yourself by being better educated. That itself is a contribution to the country,” said the 93-year-old.

The event, which was organised by youth education group Semai Nilai, was held at Perdana Leadership Foundation in Putrajaya.

At the forum, Dr Mahathir also praised youth for being very clear in their presentations.

“You are clear in what you want to say and are very aware of the environment we are in,” said Dr Mahathir after listening to six presentations in English.

“And contrary to what some say, everyone here speaks better English than me,” he joked.

The presentations were on issues such as the need for more research and development opportunities to digital issues and the use of new technology for education.

Dr Mahathir took questions from the youth after the presentations.

Below are excerpts of the question-and-answer session.

Q: What should the government do to promote multi-racial unity?

A: Whether we like it or not, this is a multiracial country. And if you stick to your race alone and only care for the success of your own and not others, obviously there will be confrontations.

In Malaysia, fortunately, people are not violent even if they don’t agree. For some countries, whenever they disagree they resort to the extreme and they fight and kill.

We hope to bring all the races together peacefully beginning with the schools. The three races and the tribes in Sabah and Sarawak should go to the same schools. That is the ideal situation.

But because we are a democratic country, we cannot ignore the objections of others. They also have rights. So here, we have three different schools – national, which teaches in the Malay language, and Chinese and Tamil schools. But this keeps young people of different races apart and they grow up in a secluded environment.

When they become adults they have to join the workforce and they have to come in contact with other races. But because of their educational background this becomes a problem because they can’t interact well with other races.

Q: What are the challenges to becoming a goods-producing country?

A: Unlike the old days, the right values are not passed on. As such, we have become a consumer country instead of a producing country. This doesn’t mean we stop buying from others but that we must learn how to provide for ourselves.

The school is the first place where you learn the sciences and mathematics so that you learn to make things by yourself. And not just depend on imports.

But we find that Malaysians, even when they can produce themselves, they do not buy. For example, Proton is not very popular now. At one time, 80% of the market was for Proton but now it’s only 17%. It’s not that the product is bad but some think local products are not as good as foreign ones.

When we do too much of that, our money flows out. That’s why it’s important that we must contribute something for the wellbeing of our own country.

When you buy local, you are helping the money to stay in the country. If we only buy foreign, we are impoverishing our own country.

Q: What do youths need to do?

A: If you want to be successful, you need to be prepared. To be prepared, you need experience, the right values, and you should be able to control yourselves.

When you have a lot of money, you can spend a lot. But if you don’t, you have to be prudent. The same applies to the country. If the country has become poor, we have to tighten our belts. We have to live at the level we can afford.

If we do that, the youth will be able to handle any crises.

Q: Who are your role models?

A: The Prophet (Muhammad) is a good role model. He was able to change the uncivilised Arab to become the most powerful civilisation in the world. At one time, the Islamic civilisation led the world in science, medicine and mathematics. So obviously, for a Muslim the Prophet is the best role model to have.

Another good role model is Peter the Great of Russia. Quite far from the Prophet, isn’t it. Russia was a very backward country then, and behind the rest of Europe. But Peter wanted Russia to be as advanced as Western Europe and forced various practices on them to make them more civilised.

It is Peter the Great who made Russia a powerful nation today. He was able to convert the minds of his people to accept the values coming from the West.

In Malaysia, we also need to change the mindsets of the people. There are three races here but their development is not equal. One is very rich and another is very poor. But giving money to the poor is not the solution as it weakens them. They become totally dependent on the government. But if you put in them the right values such as diligence, discipline and integrity, they will bring themselves up and catch up with the rest.

A good role model is like the Prophet who was able to change the minds of the ignorant Arabs so that they can succeed on their own.

Q: With the economic uncertainties of today, what would you do if you’re an 18-year-old now?

A: I would do everything I can to improve my situation.

When I was 16, I was studying in school but stopped because the country was invaded by Japan. I could have gone to a Japanese school but I thought they were going to lose anyway… so why should I learn their language?

That was a big mistake. I should have learnt a new language.

I went back to school after that and formed a group of rebels to oppose the British’s Malayan Union. And that’s how I became involved in politics. But not everybody needs to do that. – April 14, 2019.