KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said youths must embrace their role as leaders of the present, rather than wait for the future, urging university students to serve as the moral compass of society.
He said young people must lead public discourse and boldly champion causes against corruption, exploitation and systemic injustice.
“Why do you talk about future leaders? What makes you think that the young are not leaders in their own right now?” he said in his speech at the 3rd International Young Future Leaders Summit 2026 (iFUTURE 2026) at the World Trade Centre (WTC), here yesterday.
Reflecting on his days as a student activist, Anwar said he had always been cynical about older generations referring to youths as leaders of tomorrow, stressing that young people were leaders of both the present and the future.
“You must represent the conscience of the present. The present society cannot condone corruption, exploitation… and accept injustice. That is the conscience of the present, and the youth must champion this cause with all the strength,” he said.
Anwar said true leadership required moral grounding and empathy, rather than academic qualifications alone, cautioning against intellectual arrogance.
“You may have your PhDs and professorial positions, but you are quite sick because you don’t use your knowledge as dictated by the conscience in your heart,” he said.
To ensure student leaders have the space to exercise critical thinking and voice their ideas, Anwar reiterated the government’s commitment to removing restrictive provisions in the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (AUKU).
“No one will be prosecuted just because of their ideas and their criticism, including if the student leader chooses to criticise the Prime Minister. That is not a crime. You have to defend your position, but it’s not a crime to criticise the policies of the government,” he added.
The iFUTURE 2026 summit, themed “Redefining Future Leaders Through Value-Based Leadership”, is the Higher Education Ministry’s flagship initiative, organised by the Higher Education Department in strategic collaboration with Yayasan Perkasa Siswa and Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah.
The three-day summit, running from Oct 11 to 13, brings together 1,231 student leaders, comprising 813 Malaysians and 418 international delegates from 60 countries, to foster international student leadership networks through intellectual discourse and strategic engagement.
Also present were Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir and his deputy, Adam Adli Abd Halim. — Bernama