Precepts that will not only make families great but Malaysia great!

This is an auspicious occasion with Clint Lim and Eileen Tan tying the nuptial knot and starting a new journey together.

I wish them the best of everything and impart to them three precepts in life.

The first two are from the lives of great men who had unconsciously affected my life.

Firstly, the general Yue Fei, whose mother tattooed on his back the four words, jìn zhōng bào guó 盡忠報國 (‘serve the country with the utmost loyalty’), but the country here is Malaysia and not China.

Secondly, the story of Wen Tianxiang 文天祥 and his immortal words,

人生自古誰無死 留取丹心照汗青

(What man is ever immune from death? (Leave me with a loyal heart shining in the pages of history)

The third from the sage Confucius which says,

修身齊家治國平天下

(cultivate self, govern family, govern nation, pacify the world)

I present these three precepts to the new couple to lead a meaningful life.

If fact, if these three precepts are also adhered to in national affairs, it would be the basis for a great nation.

We celebrate a political breakthrough in Malaysia in the last few days, and let us hope that these three precepts will be among those contributing to efforts at making Malaysia great again.