SHANGHAI, Sept 23 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has hailed Malaysia’s 22 young competitors at the 48th WorldSkills Competition here as the country’s pride, stressing that skilled workers are indispensable to a modern, technology-driven economy.

“You have spent years practising something difficult until you could do it well. Whatever the result this week, your country is proud of you.

“Your participation here lets Malaysia test itself against the best in the world. It shows us how our standards compare and where we can improve,” he said at the plenary session of the WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 Conference and Expo here today.

Malaysia is represented by 22 young competitors across 21 skill areas at the competition, which brings together about 1,400 young professionals from more than 65 countries and regions, marking the country’s continued participation in the event since 1995.

Touching on youth’s role in the economy, Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, said young skilled workers play a crucial role in keeping modern economies running, even as machinery and software become increasingly sophisticated.

“A modern economy cannot function without the technicians who keep a semiconductor line running or an electric vehicle plant on schedule.

“The machinery may become more sophisticated. The software may become more intelligent. But somebody still has to understand how it works and know what to do when it does not,” he said.

Anwar said young people would be drawn to technical and skilled professions if they could see clear prospects for career advancement and better livelihoods.

“Our task is to make sure that it leads somewhere worth going: to skilled work and good incomes. Skill of that depth is built slowly,” said the Prime Minister.

Citing an old Chinese saying that it takes 10 years to grow a tree but 100 years to cultivate a person, Anwar said the energy and dynamism of young people were pivotal to economic progress, and that society must move beyond viewing youth merely as contributors to material and economic advancement.

“There isn’t any doubt that the energy and vibrancy of young people contributes substantively to high productivity in this pursuit of material wealth,” he said.

Anwar said young people also make significant contributions to society, including by championing social justice, addressing wealth inequalities and pushing for poverty eradication.

“Thanks to the young people, the drive to foster societal improvement, demand for social justice, ending the inequities of wealth, and pushing for poverty eradication. These are paramount.

“A country can attract capital. It can acquire technology. It still needs people who know how to make that technology work and make it better,” said Anwar.

The prime minister arrived here on Tuesday for a three-day working visit to Shanghai and Hangzhou. — Bernama