Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak
KUALA LUMPUR: Managing stress and having frequent exercise are some of the tips given by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to stay fit and healthy.
Speaking at the townhall session in conjunction with the opening ceremony of SME Annual Showcase and Conference (SMIDEX) 2017, he said that was what has kept him going all these years, although his hair was turning grey.
Pointing out that he started his political endeavour at the age of 22 and became a deputy minister at 25 before holding the Menteri Besar’s position at 29, the 64-year-old Najib admitted that he had to give up a lot of things in life while devoting most of his time in politics.
“Now I find myself as the leader of Malaysia where the stress level is much higher. The stress level of minister is high, deputy prime minister is higher but from deputy prime minister to prime minister is even higher and I can assure you, if you had a chance to be prime minister, you will realise that.
“But you must know how to manage stress. Managing stress is key not only as a politician but for everyone of you, you may have stress from your bankers, your customers, your spouses, but you have to manage this by basically adapting work life and family, all these things to be done in a way that gives you comfort,” Najib said when replying to SME Corp chief executive officer Datuk Hafsah Hashim’s question on how he stays fit and healthy.
Najib shared that he found exercise was one of the ways to manage stress in life.
“It must be the right form of physical exercise, it must lead to a healthy body. Golf is recreational but doesn’t lead to a healthy body, golfers are not healthy, my daughter tells me golf is slightly better than not doing anything else,” he said drawing laughter from the audience.
Taking the recent ASEAN Summit in Manila as an example, Najib said he and Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed had a busy schedule which was very stressful.
“So, what I did in the morning before I left, I went to the gym and did some workout, and that gave me higher energy level,” he said, adding that a positive attitude and spiritual strength also helped to overcome stress.
The townhall session provides SMEs with an opportunity to better understand the current situation on the Malaysian economy, Budget 2018 allocation for SMEs and increase awareness on the government’s effort to prepare SMEs as the nation moves towards Industrial Revolution 4.0 and Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ). – Bernama