Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim expressed concern about the influence of bite-size social media clips on the younger generation, during his opening speech at the National Book Award 2023 in Tanjung Malim on Thursday (Dec 21).
The Prime Minister warned that people should seek in-depth and comprehensive knowledge in order to avoid being easily swayed by brief overviews of topics on social media, including issues concerning national policy, economy, and education.
He emphasized the importance of studying ideas, such as the economy or policies, in-depth and being exposed to a range of complex views, in line with the Al-Kuliyah concept.
Anwar stressed the significance of adopting the Al-Kuliyah approach, which requires a deep understanding of a topic, as opposed to relying on brief summaries like one-minute TikTok videos.
According to Anwar, the younger generation is particularly susceptible to the beliefs and views of others or certain parties due to ignorance or a lack of knowledge. He urged the public to expand their knowledge by reading more, in order to prevent falling victim to parties that spread outdated narratives.
He pointed out that limited knowledge can lead to individuals unquestioningly accepting claims that certain things will condemn them to hell, due to a lack of information and being trapped in backward and old-fashioned thinking.
Anwar also advised lecturers to encourage the reading habit among their students by discussing their current reads with them before starting classes.
