Thursday June 1, 2006

Build own arms, Muslims urged

ALOR STAR: It is high time Muslims built their own brand of weaponry for mass protection, said former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

They should not depend on weapons created by others, as the enemy could easily penetrate their defence system if it knew the weaknesses in the “imported” systems, he said.

“To enhance our own defence capabilities, we must build our own brand of sophisticated weapons,” he added.

Weapons the Muslims could learn to make included pistols, rockets, fighter aircraft and cannons, Dr Mahathir said.

“Not that we (Muslims) want to attack others, but we need to protect our ummah (masses),” he said, adding that it was a religious obligation to strengthen defence capabilities.

Dr Mahathir said this when closing a learning camp for UPSR pupils, Kem Kedah Gemilang 2006, at the Mara Junior Science College in Pendang, near here, yesterday.

A total of 404 pupils from 33 schools in the Pendang district, as well as their parents, teachers and villagers, attended the event.

Dr Mahathir said Muslims worldwide were being oppressed because they were unable to defend themselves.

“Muslims are weak because we have not made the necessary preparation to defend and protect ourselves and the masses. We could not do it because we have not mastered the knowledge of science,” he said.

In this regard, he said, the Government was emphasising the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English.

Recalling that he was “not so clever” in his young days, Dr Mahathir said he was among the lower-ranked students when he went to medical school.

“But I pulled through because I studied repeatedly until I could visualise the pages in the textbooks,” he said, adding that he had to work harder than most others.

“Students should apply this technique of studying repeatedly to excel in their studies.”

He added that the boys should buck up because the girls now made up 60% of the university student population.

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