PRIME Minister Anwar Ibrahim said ignorance, especially among the younger generation, made them susceptible to the beliefs and views of others. 

With limited knowledge, anyone would be prone to accepting views presented by others, hence falling into the trap of narrow-minded thinking, he said. 

“When our knowledge is limited and people say that if we don’t do this, we will (sin and) go to hell, all we ask is if it’s true. We wouldn’t dare to ask more. At the end of the day, we are trapped in conservative and narrow-minded thinking and tend to be judgmental of others,” he said when opening the National Book Award 2023 ceremony at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (Upsi) today. 

Also present were Menteri Besar Saarani Mohamad, Higher Education Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir, and National Book Development Foundation Board of Governors chairman Prof Abdul Latiff Abu Bakar. 

The event was attended by over 5,000 Upsi students. 

Anwar said to increase knowledge, students and the younger generation must cultivate reading habits. 

“Take this message home with you, our culture, the Malay culture, and our civilization will only progress with the strength of knowledge. 

“If we want to advance, if we want to make this country a civilised nation, we must enhance our knowledge, compete with other countries, and with the culture of reading to increase knowledge, Malaysia will transform into a great nation,” he said. 

The prime minister also expressed concern about the current generation’s tendency to easily fall for brief and incomplete ideas presented on social media. 

He said topics such as economics, national policies, and the ideals of struggles required in-depth exploration and consideration of complex perspectives, taking into account the concept of Al-Kuliyah. 

“The concept of Al-Kuliyah is that knowledge should be mastered in-depth and extensively, not just a brief overview on social media or formulated in a one or two-minute talk on TikTok,” he said. 

Anwar added that older generations should also continue seeking new knowledge in line with the development of current technology, especially artificial intelligence. 

At the event, Anwar also approved an allocation of RM250,000 for the National Book Development Foundation. – Bernama, December 21, 2023.