Foundation says noble values and morality under threat
KUCHING: Society’s increasing affluence has put ethics and morality under threat, said the Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation.
Senior vice- chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said failure to accord due recognition to noble values and morality issues has contributed significantly to social disequilibrium and has led to the emergence of many social problems.
“Social development based on noble values can minimise social problems and at the same time can be more beneficial in national development.
“National development has to be attained through strong family institutions to produce the youths who are our future flagbearers. They are our national asset and can help shape the future destiny of our nation,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Nurturing good family values among the youth amid rapid modernisation and changes in lifestyle is a major challenge today, he said.
“My view has always been that our country’s technological progress and economic growth should not cloud our minds towards the importance of checking the degradation of moral and ethical values.
“While our nation is poised for further growth, it is also essential for our national leaders to focus on the moral and ethical dimension, which is an important ingredient to the attainment of nation building,” he said.
He stressed that civilisation and progress are not to be measured only by the gross national product and technological capacity.
“They are also measured by the development of the human conscience and its response when faced by the facts of human suffering and denial of human needs,” he said.
Lee said a caring society attaches great importance to the development of the human being.
“The progress and maturity of a society is not measured by GDP (gross domestic product) ringgit and technological wizardry alone, but also by its sense of responsibility, spirit of generosity and the importance it places on the dignity and wellbeing of its less fortunate members.
“While it is gratifying to note that by and large Malaysians are generous, I feel more could be done by the affluent to help the poor and the less fortunate out of their concern for their fellow men,” he said.
He added more could and should be done by more fortunate Malaysians to help build a caring culture and a caring society.
“What is most fundamental in this regard is to strengthen the family institution to withstand the demands of a changing society as well as to establish itself as the core of a healthy and stable society.
“Moral decay is caused by the erosion of spiritual and ethical values which can be overcome by upgrading the quality of family life to impact basic moral values to the youths. Here lies the challenge of family empowerment towards tackling the nation’s social ills,” he said.