PM travels through time, continents to cite ancient wisdom

BUDGET 2025 | True to form, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim boarded a time capsule and travelled through various continents during his Budget 2025 speech in the Dewan Rakyat this afternoon.

He commenced his speech with an interpretation of a verse from the Quran by religious scholar Imam al-Baydawi published in “Anwar al-Tanzil wa Asrar al-Ta’wil” that emphasises how the natural cycle of “rain from the sky” is a precondition to nurture the earth and how it can benefit humans.

“Everything is created by God for humans to observe, contemplate, learn, and manage with great care. Without knowledge, wisdom, and sustained efforts, we will not be able to gain from this blessed earth,” he said.

The prime minister also quoted the wisdom of the Greek philosopher Aristotle that “the virtue of wealth is not to have it but to use it rightly”.

He cited the words of Roman statesperson, orator, and scholar Marcus Tullius Cicero before moving to China where he referred to the Analects, which is a collection of the sayings of Confucious.

Speaking in Mandarin, Anwar said: “If a mistake happens, and if we fail to rectify it, that is the true mistake”.

However, the prime minister hit a minor snag as he crossed the border into India in his bid to cite the classic Tamil text known as Thirukural, which is also known as the Weaver’s Wisdom.

“This Thirukural is in the Tamil language. I am looking for it, missing (from the text screen). I memorised it. I spent two hours practising.

“Please permit me to read it in a different language,” he said to laughter from the House.

Soon after this, Anwar located the missing text and recited the kural (couplet) in Tamil, which touches on the responsibilities of a leader and government,

“It is not only to develop the nation but to also improve the lives of the poor, to eradicate illnesses and enemies who threaten destruction,” he added.

During his more than two-and-a-half-hour-long speech, Anwar also recited a poem by national laureate A Samad Said titled “Langkah Lestari” as well as several verses from “Anak Muda” by Indonesian poet WS Rendra.

The prime minister ended his speech with another poem, this time by Indonesian poet Teguh Esha on the subject of “love”.

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