Intellectuals, thinkers should help shape the thinking of the community — Wan Azizah

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Wan Azizah (second right) with Raja Ahmad during the launching of ‘Percakapan Dengan raja ahmad aminullah – Kesetiaan Pada Idea’ (Conversations with raja ahmad aminullah – Fidelity To Ideas) book, at the White Box Publika in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. — Bernama photo

KUALA LUMPUR: The intellectuals and thinkers in the country need to share their  knowledge in their respective fields to shape the thinking of the community or in other words, to promote thought leadership, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

She said intellectuals should not be associated only with academicians because they also comprised artists, religious scholars and anthropologists, and hence the more need to share their knowledge to help the society’s enlightenment process.

“(A book on) intellect discussion, for example, will give the readers the opportunity to understand and explore the author’s ideas in various subjects, including intellectual science, journalism and media, artistic issues, roles of students, unity, literature and culture.”

She said this at the launch of Raja Ahmad Aminullah’s book titled ‘Percakapan Dengan raja ahmad aminullah – Kesetiaan Pada Idea’ (Conversations with raja ahmad aminullah – Fidelity To Ideas), at the White Box Publika, here yesterday.

Dr Wan Azizah, who is also Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, said the book should be a driving force for all who dared to express their opinions and thoughts.

“Speaking of intellectual science and knowledge development, I want to relate our discussion to the challenges we face today where we need this group (of intellectuals) to fight with us in the battle of ideologies using knowledge.

“In the aftermath of the 14th General Election, it is important for us to realise that to build a New Malaysia is not just by winning the election, but to have knowledge in facing today’s challenges,” she said.

Dr Wan Azizah said the process of defining and building a New Malaysia required an ongoing discourse to produce a new world view, as well as a new identity, which should be unique compared to what was there before.

She said the government wanted a shift – from a racist-based world view plagued by conflicts to a world view based on natural law, compassion and kindness.

However, she said the shift would not come easy as the people and the country would have to face the anti-change group who always wanted to maintain status quo. — Bernama