Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim made an official visit to UiTM Shah Alam today for a dialogue session with the student councils of all its campuses nationwide.
During the session, Anwar shared several intriguing insights and advice for the students, the most notable of which is when he asked students to think for themselves and not become a “macai” or “walaun”.
Replying to a question from the moderator on how students can improve to realise “Mahasiswa Madani”, Anwar went on a bit of a tangent about his days as a student leader in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Referring to his days of joining student protests, Anwar said that his government has no issues with students voicing out their opinion or disagreeing with the government.
In fact, Anwar added that even the Minister of Higher Education has given students the freedom to speak. However, the Prime Minister reminded students to not go about it extremely.
He asserted,
“Students must think creatively. That’s why I said, I don’t want our children to be a ‘macai’ agreeing to everything. If you agree, then agree but if you disagree, then respectfully voice out your disagreement; but you have to think for yourselves.
“Don’t be a ‘macai’ and don’t be a ‘walaun’ who’s a yes man that agrees with everything even if it doesn’t make sense.”
In case you’re not familiar, the words macai and walaun refer to staunch followers of political parties or politicians in Malaysia. While the former is used generally for all political parties, the latter is usually used specifically for those that follow PAS.
You can watch the whole dialogue session here:
So, what do you guys think of Anwar’s advice for students? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
Also read: WATCH: Students Rally at UiTM After They Disallowed Syed Saddiq From Entering For Talk
