Globalisation - the way to go

Engaging discourse: Blair (right) responds to a question while Laureate malaysia CEO Amit Sevak looks on.

GLOBALISATION is inevitable and individuals, as well as governments must be ready to change.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said that although globalisation may present a challenge, it may prove to be a big opportunity as well.

He added that there were specific actions that each individual had to undertake in order to make globalisation “work for us”.

“This process of globalisation is a fact. It’s a force driven... by people and not by governments.

“There are certain things that we need to do in order to make it work for us and not against us,” he said during his talk on ‘The Opportunities and Challenges of Globalisation’ at INTI International College on Thursday.

Man with a mission: People want to live in societies that are tolerant and law-abiding, says blair.

He said that Malaysia today was very different from what it was 30 to 40 years ago, adding that it was a “remarkable feat”.

“But it only happened because people were prepared to take the right decisions and had the vision and determination to achieve change,” he said.

Blair, who has served as the Quartet Representative to the Middle East, said that in most places that he visited, “most people want the same thing”.

“Most people want to be able to live in societies that are tolerant and respectful and law abiding.

They want to move ahead through their own hard work and merit and “rise to the top”, he added.

“(They) want to live in a world that is opening up to each other, and for each other,” he said, adding that these were “universal values”.

He later said during the question and answer session that discrimination of any sort would affect the growth of the country in this age of globalisation.

“If human capital is your biggest resource, you can’t afford to not give women equal rights.

You can’t afford to discriminate based on faith or race or culture,” he said.

He added that targeting certain groups of people within the country to take the blame, is a close-minded approach.

“(It) may get a you a round of applause from people who should know better but is absolute death to the future of your country,” he said.