Measure progress by quality of life, not the number of skyscrapers, says PM

The Star

A nation’s progress should be measured by its citizens’ quality of life and not the number of megastructures in the country, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.  To that end, Anwar said Malaysia is currently implementing digital systems to deliver social protection more effectively to vulnerable communities.  Read more at https://tinyurl.com/mrxckazt  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00I remember vividly over 50 years ago in 1974, I was a young student leader in the rural town

00:28of Bali in North Malaysia. I stood with farmers who could barely feed their families. They were protesting

00:41hunger and rising prices. Supporting them led to my detention under ISSA, no ISSA.

00:50There was the Internal Security Act. Otherwise, Dr. Asma would be in trouble.

00:58Well, two years detention without trial because of our passion to cease and champion the cause

01:08of the poor and the destitute. I saw how poverty strips away opportunity. I saw how injustice

01:20had the potential to leave scars that would last generations. And I learned that solidarity

01:28and the struggle for justice can restore dignity and hope. Those early experiences shared by many of us

01:41must shape our conviction that a society is measured not only by its skyline, but how it protects the

01:52most vulnerable. Progress is ongoing, though far from perfect, but the conviction that guides us is

02:01clear. True prosperity is not measured by the size of our skyscrapers or GDP, but by the dignity of

02:14of ordinary citizens, how they live their daily lives. No country can face these challenges alone.

02:28In all humility, we acknowledge them. Therefore, on the order, collaboration with experts, with friends,

02:41where the same desire and commitment is essential. The pressures of our time, climate change,

02:50technological disruption, migration, displacement, no borders. If capital can cross continents in search of profit,

03:02then a measure of solidarity, too, must cross borders in the name of justice. We must begin

03:09to see social security as part of a global ecosystem. That ecosystem can take many forms,

03:19stronger financing for protection laws, global funds created for health and climate, fairer taxation across

03:27borders, and the sharing of expertise and technology so that no country is left behind. A world

03:38fractured by inequality cannot endure. Neither a country, nor a region, nor the global community can

03:50endure such gross inequality physically due to an oppressive system that do not recognize the dignity of our workers.

04:08So, I do not believe that this is a report of power to advance the risk of a democracy.

04:10So, I should move to the stewardship of a community of the sacred institutions .

04:12So, I will be the hope for it after two months. For what I do not believe in the

04:13future, I will be the hope of a decrease in my life. That's why I am not entirely

04:15to believe in my own belief. I hope I will be the hope of the dedicated

04:19life-based work of public service. And I'll make it a determination to you to be a

04:20championship. And I'm going to reinvest the race again to you today. I will be the

04:21next to you today. I hope you will talk about the future of this work today's work in my

04:22future. I will eventually study my career. But I do not believe in great

04:23that you are like so much but I will be the case in my life's work in your life. It's interesting to

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended