TANJUNG MALIM: The current younger generation are easily influenced by the beliefs and views of others due to a lack of knowledge or ignorance, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The Prime Minister described as worrying the tendency of the young to be easily swayed by brief social media clips.
“Even with regards to national policy, economy, education, these subjects are being summarised in just a few minutes of a social media post.
“This is really dangerous because it is not comprehensive policy knowledge,” he told some 5,000 undergraduates at Tuanku Canselor Hall, Sultan Azlan Shah Campus, of Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) here yesterday.
Speaking during his opening speech for the National Book Awards 2023, Anwar highlighted that an idea or issue such as on the economy or policies must be studied in depth and requires a number of complex views, which follows the Al-Kuliyah concept.
“It is crucial for such a concept to be adopted as Al-Kuliyah requires a deep understanding of a topic, not just by a brief summary on social media such as a one-minute TikTok video.”
The Prime Minister reminded the people to acquire knowledge with depth and comprehension.
He also urged the public to increase their knowledge by reading more to avoid falling for backward narratives.
“When our knowledge is limited, people would claim that certain behaviours would condemn you to hell and we would not question it.
“It is because when the knowledge is limited and we want to question something but we do not have the information that we may be trapped in this jumud (backward) and kolot (old-fashioned) thinking,” he added.
Anwar also advised lecturers to inculcate the reading habit among their students by discussing their currents reads before starting classes.
Also present at the event were Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad, Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari and National Book Development Foundation chairman Prof Tan Sri Abdul Latiff Abu Bakar.
After launching the event, Anwar announced a RM250,000 allocation for the foundation.
The awards ceremony also saw 11 recipients being honoured, with Amirudin receiving the Award for Outstanding Young Leadership in Uplifting the Development of the National Book.
Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali was bestowed the Prolific Leadership in Upholding the National Book Award through a book titled G.R.E.A.T!.
