PRIME Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the struggle for the people is not a cliché, it comes from his heart because he can feel their hardship, during an interview on Era radio today.

Ismail said the hardship of growing up as the son of a rubber tapper with eight siblings made him person stronger and able to understand the hardship of others.

“Others may learn about poverty through their readings, but I experienced it first-hand. If there was news about people losing their jobs during Covid-19, and children missing their meals, I can feel it. I have lived in their shoes,” he said.

Ismail said striking a balance between saving the people’s lives from Covid-19, while sustaining the economy and their livelihood was very difficult.

To make things worse, he said there was no precedent for the situation as the whole world was facing it and struggling to fight the deadly pandemic.

He called on everyone to fly the Jalur Gemilang at home and on their vehicles for Merdeka Day and Malaysia Day.

He said the country may have been freed from physical aspects of colonialism, but cultural colonialism still occurs.

“What’s important is for us not to be too influenced by the culture that is not suitable for us… although today’s generation has much better freedom than we had previously, there needs to be a certain limit so that they are not influenced by negative elements,” he said.

In an interview on My FM, Ismail said his government had solved the nation’s economic, political and health problems.

“We were able to solve them and the political situation is more stable now compared to when I first took over.

“We have also solved some economic issues. Bank Negara Malaysia said our 8.9% GDP is the best in southeast Asia, comparable to major economic powers such as the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, China and so on,” he added. – Bernama, August 30, 2022.