PM laments Malaysians’ lack of focus and effort
The Star – 22 Feb. 2006
PERTH: Malaysians often do not put enough focus, attention and effort into what they are doing, said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.  
“If we are not men of quality, don’t hope to get anywhere. If you find your lessons too hard, try harder,” he told about 250 Malaysian students in Western Australia during a dialogue session yesterday.  
Often referring to himself as Pak Lah, the Prime Minister told the students that nothing came easy in life.  
“Prove yourselves by securing excellent results. If you can achieve this, then you can become the human capital for the country's development,” he said.  
“We need people with first-class mentality to move ahead.”  Abdullah reminded the students that intelligence and knowledge were not enough.  
“We must have good character, values, honesty, integrity and accountability. If you are clever, but a liar and a cheat, there’s no point,” he said.  
He told them to listen to his speech when he tables the Ninth Malaysian Plan on March 31.  
“Under the Ninth Plan, we will spend more money on infrastructure. We have more money now – the prices of oil, rubber and palm oil have all gone up,” he added.  Abdullah was in a jovial mood during the session. At the beginning of the session, he joked: “If there’s still not enough seats, share a chair. We are small-built, not like the Australians.”  But he later took on a serious note, asking the students not to do things that would shame the nation.  
“Know how to look after yourselves and how to behave. You are growing and maturing in a foreign land,” he said.  Later, Abdullah took questions from the students, who touched on issues like the inadequate allowance received by government-sponsored students, Asean solidarity, and corruption.  
Abdullah is on a two-day visit to Perth. Today, he will receive an honorary doctorate from Curtin University of Technology.  
Source: The Star | http://thestar.com.my