PUTRAJAYA: Malaysian society must protect its strong family values as they are crucial for nation-building, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. The Prime Minister said a corrupt and untrustworthy society will weaken the country, and this had afflicted many civilisations throughout history. “When values disappear, the country may continue to develop, but other evil things will (arise) as well, like corruption and misappropriation. That’s the sign a society is losing its values. “We can be successful if our families are nurtured the right way. Any group will flourish when its leaders, whether the head of the family or the head of the nation, continue to protect strong family values. “Otherwise, the (bad leader) will only harm the country and cause chaos. It will be difficult for such a person to convince society that he is capable,” he said when launching National Family Month at Dataran Putrajaya here on Saturday (Nov 4). One ingredient to ensure strong family unity is to nurture religious values among children from an early age, he said. This was especially so in Malaysia, which is multiracial and has multiple faiths, he added. “A long time ago, (Former British colonial agent) Stamford Raffles asked (Malayan writer) Abdullah Munshi, what were the children doing (in daily activities). “Abdullah Munshi said as soon as the children knew their parents, the people of Melaka at the time were taught about Allah, to read the Quran and learn the Alif Ba Ta (Arabic alphabet). “I hope these values can be instilled in everyone. When we are nurtured… to always be in search of knowledge, we will have good discipline.” At the same time, the Prime Minister said strong family values will also shape society to become more compassionate and intelligent. However, he pointed out that such values must be put into practice on a daily basis, especially by parents. He added that this is also in line with the Negara Madani concept, which is to instill strong values in every person. “This is especially important during a difficult time such as now when we are seeing cruelty being done in Gaza. We were raised by our parents to be loving of one another. “How could we not be affected by the injustice? We were nurtured to understand what is love, compassion and the meaning of humanity and even though they (Palestinians) are Arabs and not Malaysians, we feel the pain too. “This is why instilling strong values in our children is important and is one of the pillars of the Madani concept,” he added.
