KUALA LUMPUR – The migration of many Muslims to Christian-led European countries instead of to other Muslim countries signals a failure in governance within Islamic nations, said former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Mahathir said the adverse situation in Muslim homelands have forced these migrants to seek greener pastures.
“We find the migration of people to Europe, not to Muslim countries, (but) to Christian countries. Apparently, there must be some failures in Muslim governments that are forcing their people to leave their country.
“This is something people won’t do without strong feelings. The situation in their own country forced them to find better lives in other countries.
“This means we are seeing a lot of failures in our countries,” said the former two-time prime minister, who was chairing the Perdana Dialogue hosted by the Kuala Lumpur Summit on Facebook Live today.
Mahathir said during the question-and-answer session that the nation has to provide good governance if it is to stop the migration.
He said that without good governance, citizens will lead miserable lives and will not hesitate to migrate.
This, in turn, will cost the Muslim world valuable talent as intelligent adherents to the faith will provide service to non-Muslim nations.
The Langkawi MP added that the Islamic world must reflect on what has gone wrong with its governance and that only capable individuals, moved by their passion to give the best for their respective countries, should lead.
He said that the “critical juncture” to create and develop these leaders must start at primary or even pre-school education, when it is easier to mould the minds and values of future generation leaders.
Mahathir said that although being highly educated is important in a leader, having the right values is even more critical as they ensure that leaders work hard to deliver their promises to the people once they become part of the ruling government.
“There should be concerted efforts to implant good values. For Muslims, this shouldn’t be a problem because good values come from Islam itself. The Quran teaches us good values.
“If we start by teaching our kids good values when they grow up, they will know how to manage and position themselves in their own country. It is a long process.
“There are no shortcuts to it but we have to try somehow. As the Chinese sage Confucius said, the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.
“We are not taking just the first step, but many steps ahead. We must try to implant good values in our future generations,” said Mahathir. – The Vibes, January 26, 2021
