The progress of a country starts with the people - Johari Abdul

SINGAPORE - The people are the foundation of any nation's progress said Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat of the Malaysian Parliament Tan Sri Johari Abdul.

According to Johari, it should also be supported by a good ecosystem where it is organised with good planning and strong implementation.

Looking at Malaysia, he said there is a challenge of how to get the people to work together with the government towards "a clear objective where we want to go."

"Where the position of the country is in terms of the economy... regionally and in the Asian region... it depends on the preparation and preparation of the people themselves," he said at the Malaysian Diaspora Joint Council here on Thursday (Oct 26).

Also present was the High Commissioner of Malaysia in Singapore, Datuk Dr Azfar Mohamad Mustafar.

Johari was in the republic for a bilateral meeting with his counterpart Seah Kian Peng on Friday (Oct 27).

"Otherwise we won't be heading towards the right goal... knowingly or unknowingly, we end up just wasting our time and resources," he said.

He believes "society needs to be disciplined" and "well guided."

For that purpose, he said the government will continue the National Service Training Program (PLKN) which requires young people to undergo training at a military camp for 45 days.

Johari also stated that young people will also be sent to undergo Technical and Vocational Education, Training (TVET) which is aligned with the needs of the industry. It is in preparation to receive an influx of foreign investment soon such as from China, India and Turkey.

"We recently signed an MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) with China worth about RM170 billion. Now, if the Chinese come, are our people ready to face the challenge? To be honest with you, we are not ready. "So that's why immediate action needs to be taken to train these young people," he said.

Johari also saw it as a "two-pronged or three-pronged" beneficial move where "apart from meeting the needs of investors, we also increase the income of the young generation in the future," he said. - BERNAMA