KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia must guard against producing highly skilled professionals who excel in their own fields but remain detached from wider society, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Citing Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset, the Prime Minister warned against the "barbarism of specialisation", particularly as the country moves deeper into artificial intelligence, quantum computing and digital transformation.
"AI is also an area of specialisation. Quantum computing. Digital transformation. All of these demand a high degree of specialisation.
"But do not turn specialisation into what he (Gasset) termed the 'barbarism of specialisation'," Anwar said when officiating the Professional Conference & Exhibition 2026 (Profex 2026) on Tuesday (Sept 29).
Anwar said the danger arose when specialists became highly competent in their own fields but lacked integration, cooperation and understanding beyond their respective disciplines.
He said professional excellence must therefore go beyond technical expertise to include an understanding of society, family, the environment and the wider world.
"How can we talk about professionalism when narrow and deeply entrenched racial attitudes remain?"
Anwar said professionals, by virtue of their expertise and influence, also carried a responsibility to speak up against wrongdoing and poor governance.
Referring to past national controversies, including 1MDB and Felda, he said responsibility could not be placed solely on political leaders.
"Yes, political leaders are responsible. But professionals are not exempt," he said.
He said there had been instances where many people were aware that things had gone wrong, yet remained silent even as the country suffered major losses.
"A large number knew, but were unable to speak out. Many of them were top professionals in their respective fields," he said.
Anwar said this was another manifestation of the "barbarism of specialisation" – when people became so confined to their own professional spheres that they failed to confront problems affecting society as a whole.
He urged professionals to act as agents of reform and catalysts for new ideas, saying their specialised knowledge placed them in a position to contribute solutions that were not available to everyone.
Profex 2026, organised by Balai Ikhtisas Malaysia, is being held on Sept 29 and 30 under the theme "Uniting Professions, Transforming Malaysia's Future".
The organisation represents 23 professional associations and more than 120,000 professionals nationwide.
