Ms. Woo: Welcome to the
Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative
Town Hall. My name is Anita Woo, your
moderator this afternoon. Today we have the crème de
la crème of ASEAN youth right here, gathered in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in University of Malaya's
Tunku Chancellor Hall. Having produced two
Malaysia prime ministers, this venue is no stranger
to young leaders, such as yourselves. We are here because, as
youth under the age of 35, we currently represent
60 percent of the ASEAN population, and being the
single largest demographic in ASEAN, we not only
have an impact on our respective nations, but
also across the region. From a global perspective,
although ASEAN covers just 3 percent of land area,
ASEAN is a single -- as a single identity would rank
as the seventh largest economy in the world;
however, each nation within ASEAN is in a
different place in our journeys towards
development, each journey unique. Deep poverty persists in
the region, but one of the leaders tackling this
issue is Indonesia's Dr. Sri Mulyani Indrawati,
who is currently managing director of
World Bank Group. Similarly, although the
record on upholding human rights and democratic
governance within the region still leaves
much to be desired, (inaudible) heroic
struggle and triumph proves that mountains
can be moved with determination
and tenacity. ASEAN young entrepreneurs
don't have to look far to know that success is
within their reach as AirAsia Tan Sri Tony
Fernandez carved his success from within this
very region, Moreover, with a thriving scene in
Southeast Asia -- creative scene -- who knows? The next Jimmy Choo could
be amongst us this very moment. As our region faces the
challenges inherent in a rapidly developing nation
and economy, where perspectives on education,
business, environment must change with the times, we
should use our ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit
to change how we plan to overcome these obstacles
and emerge stronger than ever. Southeast Asia is one
of the diversity-rich regions, home to an array
of cultures and histories, and as we know,
it was once even home to President Obama. The future of ASEAN will
lie in its ability to not only celebrate this
diversity, but to harness it as a key
building block for our success. Today the President
himself will be taking questions directly from
those present here, as well as questions
submitted to you -- submitted by you through
Facebook and Twitter from around the region. Without further ado,
please join me in welcoming to stage the
44th President of the United States,
President Barack Obama. (applause) The President: Hello everybody! The President: Well,
good afternoon. Selamat petang. Please, everybody
have a seat. It is wonderful to be here
and it is wonderful to see all these outstanding
young people here. I want to thank, first of
all, the University of Malaya for hosting us. I want to thank the
Malaysian people for making us feel so welcome. Anita, thank you for
helping to moderate. These trips are usually
all business for me, but every once in a while I
want to have some fun, so I try to hold an event
like this where I get to hear directly from young
people like you -- because I firmly believe that
you will shape the future of your countries and the
future of this region. And I'm glad to see so
many students who are here today, including young
people from across Southeast Asia. And I know some of you
are joining us online and through social media, and
you'll be able to ask me questions, too. This is my fifth trip to
Asia as President, and I plan to be back again
later this year -- not just because I like the
sights and the food, although I do, but because
a few years ago I made a deliberate and
strategic decision as President of the United States that
America will play a larger, more comprehensive role in this region's future. I know some still ask
what this strategy is all about. So before I answer your
questions, I just want to answer that one
question -- why Asia is so important to
America, and why Southeast Asia has been a particular focus,
and finally, why I believe that young people
like you have to be the ones who lead us forward. Many of you know this part
of the world has special meaning for me. I was born in Hawaii,
right in the middle of the Pacific. I lived in
Indonesia as a boy. (applause) Hey! There's the Indonesian
contingent. (applause) Yes, that's
where they're from. (applause) My sister, Maya,
was born in Jakarta. She's married to a man
whose parents were born here -- my
brother-in-law's father in Sandakan, and
his mom in Kudat. (applause) And my mother
spent years working in the villages of Southeast
Asia, helping women buy sewing machines or gain
an education so that they could better
earn a living. And as I mentioned last
night to His Majesty the King, and the Prime
Minister, I'm very grateful for the
Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia for hosting an exhibit that
showcased some of my mother's batik collection,
because it meant a lot to her and it's part of
the connection that I felt and I continue to feel
to this region. So the Asia Pacific, with
its rich cultures and beautiful traditions and
vibrant society -- that's all part of who I am. It helped shape how
I see the world. And it's also helped to
shape my approach as President. And while our government,
our financial centers, many of our traditions
began along the Atlantic Coast, America has
always been a Pacific nation, as well. Our biggest, most populous
state is on the Pacific Coast. And for generations, waves
of immigrants from all over Asia -- from
different countries and races and religions --
have come to America and contributed to
our success. From our earliest years,
when our first President, George Washington, sent a
trade mission to China, through last year,
when the aircraft carrier that bears his name, the
George Washington, helped with typhoon relief in
the Philippines, America has always had a
history with Asia. And we've got a
future with Asia. This is the world's
fastest-growing region. Over the next five years,
nearly half of all economic growth outside
the United States is projected to come from
right here in Asia. That means this region is
vital to creating jobs and opportunity not only
for yourselves but also for the American people. And any serious leader in
America recognizes that fact. And because you're home
to more than half of humanity, Asia will
largely define the contours of the century
ahead -- whether it's going to be marked
by conflict or cooperation; by human suffering
or human progress. This is why America has
refocused our attention on the vast potential of
the Asia Pacific region. My country has come
through a decade in which we fought two wars and
an economic crisis that hurt us badly -- along with
countries all over the globe. But we've now ended the
war in Iraq; our war in Afghanistan will
end this year. Our businesses are
steadily creating new jobs. And we've begun addressing
the challenges that have weighed down our
economy for too long -- reforming our health care and
financial systems, raising standards in our schools, building a clean energy economy,
cutting our fiscal deficits by more than half since
I took office. Though we've been busy at
home, the crisis still confronts us in other
parts of the world from the Middle
East to Ukraine. But I want to
be very clear. Let me be clear about
this, because some people have
wondered whether because of what happens in Ukraine or what
happens in the Middle East, whether this will sideline our
strategy -- it has not. We are focused and we're
going to follow through on our interest in promoting a strong U.S.-Asia relationship. America has
responsibilities all around the world, and
we're glad to embrace those responsibilities. And, yes, sometimes we
have a political system of our own and it can be easy
to lose sight of the long view. But we have been moving
forward on our rebalance to this part of the
world by opening ties of commerce and negotiating
our most ambitious trade agreement; by increasing
our defense and educational exchange
cooperation, and modernizing our alliances;
by participating fully in regional institutions like
the East Asia Summit; building deeper
partnerships with emerging powers like
Indonesia and Vietnam. And increasingly,
we're building these partnerships throughout
Southeast Asia. Since President Johnson's
visit here to Malaysia in 1966, there's perhaps no
region on Earth that has changed so dramatically. Old dictatorships
have crumbled. New voices have emerged. Controlled economies have
given way to free markets. What used to be small
villages, kampungs, are now gleaming skyscrapers. The 10 nations that make
up ASEAN are home to nearly one in 10 of
the world's citizens. And when you put those
countries together, you're the seventh largest
economy in the world, the fourth largest market for
American exports, the number-one destination for American investment in Asia. And I'm proud to be the
first American President to meet regularly with all
10 ASEAN leaders, and I intend to do it every year
that I remain President. (applause) By the way,
I want to congratulate Malaysia on its turn to
assume the chairmanship of ASEAN next year. (applause) Malaysia plays
a central role in this region that will only keep
growing over time, with an ability to promote
economic growth and opportunity, and be an
anchor of stability and maritime security. Now, one of the things
that makes this region so interesting is
its diversity. That diversity creates a
unique intersection of humanity -- people from
so many ethnic groups and backgrounds and religious
and political beliefs. It gives Malaysia, as
one primary example, the chance to prove -- as
America constantly tries to prove -- that nations
are stronger and more successful when they
work to uphold the civil rights and political rights and
human rights of all their citizens. (applause) That's why, over the past
few years, Prime Minister Najib and I have worked
to broaden and deepen the relationship between our two
countries in the same spirit of berkerja
sama that I think so many of you embody. (applause) The United
States remains the number-one investor
in Malaysia. We're partnering to
promote security in shipping lanes. We're making progress
on the Trans-Pacific Partnership to boost trade
that supports good jobs and prosperity in
both our countries. Today, I'm very pleased
that we've forged a comprehensive partnership
that lays the foundation for even
closer cooperation for years to come. But our strategy is
more than just security alliances or
trade agreements. It's also about building
genuine relationships between the peoples of
Asia and the peoples of the United States,
especially young people. We want you to be getting
to know the young people of the United States and
partnering well into the future in science
and technology, and entrepreneurship,
and education. One program that we're
proud of here in Malaysia is the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Program. (applause) Hey,
there we go. (laughter) Over the past
two years, nearly 200 Americans have come
here, and they haven't just taught English -- they've
made lifelong friendships with their students
and their communities. One of these Americans,
I'm told, was a young woman named Kelsey, from a
city in Boston -- the city of Boston. Last year, after the
Boston Marathon was attacked, she taught her
students all about her hometown -- its
history and its culture. She taught them a phrase
that's popular in Boston -- "wicked awesome." So that was part of the
English curriculum. (laughter) And so her students began
to feel like a place -- that this place, Boston,
that was a world away was actually something they
understood and they connected to and
they cared about. They responded by writing
get-well cards and sending them to hospitals where
many of the victims were being treated. Partnerships like those
remind us that the relationship between
nations is not just defined by
governments, but is defined by people -- especially the
young people who will determine the future long after
those of us who are currently in positions of
power leave the stage. And that's especially true
in Southeast Asia, because almost two-thirds of the
population in this region is under 35 years old. This is a young
part of the world. And I've seen the hope
and the energy and the optimism of your
generation wherever I travel, from Rangoon to
Jakarta to here in KL. I've seen the desire
for conflict resolution through diplomacy
and not war. I've seen the desire
for prosperity through entrepreneurship, not
corruption or cronyism. I've seen a longing for
harmony not by holding down one segment of
society but by upholding the rights of every
human being, regardless of what they look like or who they
love or how they pray. And so you give me hope. Robert Kennedy once said,
"It is a revolutionary world that we live in, and
thus it is young people who must take the lead." And I believe it is
precisely because you come of age in such world with
fewer walls, with instant information -- you
have the world at your fingertips, and you can
change it for the better. And I believe that
together we can do things that your parents, your
grandparents, your great-grandparents would
have never imagined. But today I am proud that
we're launching a new Young Southeast Asian
Leaders Initiative to increase and enhance
America's engagement with young people
across the region. You're part of
this new effort. You're the next generation
of leaders -- in government, in civil
society, in business and the arts. Some of you have already
founded non-profit organizations to promote
human rights, or prevent human trafficking, or
encourage religious tolerance and
interfaith dialogue. Some of you have started
projects to educate young people on the environment,
and engage them to protect our air and our water, and
to prevent climate change. Some of you have been
building your own ASEAN-wide network of
young leaders to meet challenges like
youth unemployment. And I know that some of
you have been spending this weekend collaborating
on solutions to these major issues. And over the next few
months, across Southeast Asia, we're
going to find ways to listen to young people about your ideas
and the partnerships we can then build together
to empower your efforts, develop new exchanges,
connect young leaders across Southeast Asia
with young Americans. So that's part of what
we're starting here today. And before I take your
questions, let me just close by sharing with you
the future that I want to work for in this region,
about where we want America's rebalance in
the Asia Pacific to lead, about the work we
can do together. I believe that together we
can make the Asia Pacific more secure. America has the strongest
military in the world, but we don't seek conflict; we
seek to keep the peace. We want a future where
disputes are resolved peacefully and where
bigger nations don't bully smaller nations. All nations are equal in
the eyes of international law. We want to deepen our
cooperation with other nations on issues
like counterterrorism and piracy, but also
humanitarian aid and disaster relief -- which
will help us respond quickly to catastrophes
like the tsunami in Japan, or the typhoon in
the Philippines. We want to do
that together. Together, we want to make
the Asia Pacific more prosperous, with more
commerce and shared innovation and
entrepreneurship. And we want to see broader
and more inclusive development and
prosperity. Through agreements like
the TPP, we want to make sure nations in the Asia
Pacific can trade under rules that ensure fair
access to markets, and support jobs and economic
growth for everybody, and set high standards for the
protection of workers and the environment. Together, we want to make
the Asia Pacific -- and the world -- cleaner
and more secure. The nations of this region
are uniquely threatened by climate change. No nation is immune to
dangerous and disruptive weather patterns, so every
nation is going to have to do its part. And the United States
is ready to do ours. Last year, I introduced
America's first-ever Climate Action Plan to use
more clean energy and less dirty energy, and cut
the dangerous carbon pollution that contributes
to climate change. So we want to cooperate
with countries in Southeast Asia to do
the same, to combat the destruction of
our forests. We can't condemn future
generations to a planet that is beyond fixing. We can only do
that together. Together, we can make
this world more just. America is the world's
oldest constitutional democracy; that means
we're going to stand up for democracy --
it's a part of who we are. And we do this not only
because we think it's right, but because it's
been proven to be the most stable and successful
form of government. In recent decades, many
Asian nations have shown that different nations can
realize the promise of self-government in their
own way; they have their own path. But we must recognize that
democracies don't stop just with elections; they
also depend on strong institutions and a
vibrant civil society, and open political space, and
tolerance of people who are different than you. We have to create an
environment where the rights of every citizen,
regardless of race or gender, or religion or
sexual orientation are not only protected,
but respected. We want a future where
nations that are pursuing reforms, like Myanmar,
like Burma, consolidate their own democracy,
and allow for people of different faiths and
ethnicities to live together in peace. We want to see open space
for civil society in all our countries so that
citizens can hold their governments accountable
and improve their own communities. And we want to work
together to ensure that we're drawing on the
potential of all our people -- and that
means ensuring women have full and equal access to
opportunity, just like men. (applause) And to make sure we can
sustain all these efforts, we want a future where we're building an architecture of institutions and relationships. For America, that always
begins with our alliances, which serve as the
cornerstone of our approach to the world. But we also want to work
with organizations like ASEAN and in forums like
APEC and the East Asia Summit to
resolve disputes and forge new partnerships. And we want to cooperate
with our old allies and our emerging partners,
and with China. We want to see a peaceful
rise for China, because we think it can and
should contribute to the stability and prosperity
that we all seek. So that's the shared
future I want to see in the Asia Pacific. Now, America cannot
impose that future. It's one we need to build
together, in partnership, with all the nations and
peoples of the region, especially young people. That vision is within our
reach if we're willing to work for it. Now, this world has its
share of threats and challenges, and that's
usually what makes the news. We know that progress can
always be reversed, and that positive change is
achieved not through passion alone, but through
patient and persistent effort. But we've seen things
change for the better in this region and around
the world because of the effort of ordinary
people, together -- working together. It's possible. We've seen it in the
opportunity and progress that's been
unleashed in this amazing part of the world. I've only been in Malaysia
for a day, but I've already picked up a new
phrase: Malaysia boleh. (applause) Malaysia can do it. Now, I have to say, we
have a similar saying in America: Yes, we can. That's the spirit in which
I hope America and all the nations of Southeast
Asia can work together, and it's going to depend on
your generation to carry it forward. As Presidents and Prime
Ministers, they can help lay the foundation, but
you've got to build the future. And now I want to hear
directly from you. I want to hear your
aspirations for your own lives, your hopes
for your communities and your culture, what you think
we can do together in the years to come. Terima kasih banyak. (Applause) Ms. Woo: Thank you very
much, Mr. President. If you may? The President: Well, I'm
going to take the first question, and then I think
Anita is going to take a question from
social media. This is tough because we
have so many outstanding young people. I'll call on this young
lady right here, right in the front. Tell me your name. If you're going to school,
tell me what level you're at, what year you are in
school, and where you're from. Female Speaker: Hi, Mr. President. I'm from Cambodia, and
I went to Institute of Foreign Languages at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. And I've got a very
simple question for you. What was your dream when
you were in your 20s, and did you achieve it? And if so, how did
you achieve it? The President: Well, it's
a short question but it's not a simple one. (laughter) When I was in
high school -- so, for those of you who are
studying under a different system, when I was 15, 16,
17, before I went to the university -- I wasn't always
the best student. Sometimes I was enjoying life too much. (laughter) Don't clap. (laughter) This guy
is the same way. (laughter) No, part of it
I was rebelling, which is natural for young
people that age. I didn't know my father, and so my family life was complicated. So I didn't always focus
on my studies, and that probably carried over into the first two years of university. But around the age of 20,
I began to realize that I could have an impact on
the world if I applied myself more. I became interested
in social policy and government, and I decided
that I wanted to work in the non-profit sector
for people who are disadvantaged in
the United States. And so I was able to do
that for three years after I graduated from college. That's how I moved to
the city of Chicago. I was hired by a group of
churches to work in poor areas to help people get
jobs and help improve housing and give young
people more opportunity. And that was a great
experience for me, and it led me to go to law
school and to practice civil rights laws, and then
ultimately to run for elected office. And when I think back to
my journey, my past, I think the most important
thing for -- and maybe the most important
thing for all the young people here -- is to realize
that you really can have an impact on the world; you can
achieve your dreams. But in order to do so, you
have to focus not so much on a title or how much
money you're going to make, you have to focus
more on what kind of influence and impact are
you going to have on other people's lives -- what
good can you do in the world. Now, that may involve
starting a business, but if you want to start a
business you should be really excited about the
product or the service that you're making. It shouldn't just be how
much money I can make -- because the business
people who I meet who do amazing things, like
Bill Gates, who started Microsoft -- they're
usually people who are really interested in
what they do and they really think that it can make a
difference in people's lives. If you want to go into
government, you shouldn't just want to be a particular government official. You should want to go into
government because you think it can help educate
some children, or it can help provide jobs for
people who need work. So I think the most
important thing for me was when I started thinking
more about other people and how I could have
an impact in my larger society and community, and wasn't just thinking about myself. That's when I think your
dreams can really take off -- because if you're only
thinking about you, then your world is small; if
you're thinking about others, then your
world gets bigger. Thank you. (applause) Ms. Woo: Thank you,
Mr. President. We now have a question
from the social media, which we've been
collecting over the week. The President: Okay. Ms. Woo: The question comes from
our friend from Burma, from Myanmar. And he asks: Mr.
President, what would be your own key words or
encouragement for each of us leaders of our next
generation while we are cooperating with numerous
diversities such as different races,
languages, beliefs and cultures not only in
Myanmar, but also across ASEAN? Thank you. The President: Well,
it's a great question. If you look at the biggest
source of conflict and war and hardship around the
world, one of the most if not the most important
reasons is people treating those who are not like
them differently. So in Myanmar right now,
they're going through a transition after decades
of repressive government, they're trying to open
things up and make the country more democratic. And that's a very
courageous process that they're going through. But the danger, now that
they're democratizing is that there are different
ethnic groups and different religions inside
of Myanmar, and if people start organizing
politically around their religious identity or
around their ethnic identity as opposed
to organizing around principles of justice and
rule of law and democracy, then you can actually
start seeing conflicts inside those countries
that could move Myanmar in a very bad direction --
particularly, if you've got a Muslim minority
inside of Myanmar right now that the broader
population has historically looked down
upon and whose rights are not fully being protected. Now, that's not
unique to Myanmar. Here in Malaysia, this is
a majority Muslim country. But then, there are times
where those who are non-Muslims find
themselves perhaps being disadvantaged or
experiencing hostility. In the United States,
obviously historically the biggest conflicts
arose around race. And we had to fight a
civil war and we had to have a civil rights
movement over the course of generations until
I could stand before you as a President of
African descent. (applause) But of course,
the job is not done. There is still
discrimination and prejudice and ethnic
conflict inside the United States that we have to
be vigilant against. So my point is all of us
have within us biases and prejudices of people who
are not like us or were not raised in the
same faith or come from a different ethnic
background. But the world
is shrinking. It's getting smaller. You could think that way
when we were all living separately in
villages and tribes, and we didn't have contact with each other. We now have the Internet
and smart phones, and our cultures are
all colliding. The world has gotten
smaller and no country is going to succeed if part
of its population is put on the sidelines because they're discriminated against. Malaysia won't succeed if
non-Muslims don't have opportunity. (applause) Myanmar won't
succeed if the Muslim population is oppressed. No society is going to
succeed if half your population -- meaning
women -- aren't getting the same education and employment opportunities as men. (applause) So I think the
key point for all of you, especially as young
people, is you should embrace your culture. You should be proud of
who you are and your background. And you should appreciate
the differences in language and food. And how you worship God is
going to be different, and those are things that
you should be proud of. But it shouldn't be a tool
to look down on somebody else. It shouldn't be a
reason to discriminate. And you have to make sure
that you are speaking out against that in your daily
life, and as you emerge as leaders you should be on
the side of politics that brings people together
rather than drives them apart. (applause) That is the
most important thing for this generation. And part of the way to
do that is to be able to stand in other people's
shoes, see through their eyes. Almost every religion
has within it the basic principle that I, as a
Christian, understand from the teachings of Jesus. Do unto others as you
would have them do unto you. Treat people the way
you want to be treated. And if you're not doing
that and if society is not respecting that basic
principle, then we're going backwards
instead of going forward. And this is true all
around the world. And sometimes, it's among
groups that those of us on the outside, we look --
they look exactly the same. In Northern Ireland, there
has been a raging conflict -- although they have
finally come to arrive at peace -- because half or a portion of the population is Catholic, a
portion is Protestant. From the outside, you look
-- why are they arguing? They're both Irish. They speak the
same language. It seems as if they'd have
nothing to argue about. But that's been a part of
Ireland that has been held back and is poor and less
developed than the part of Ireland that didn't
have that conflict. In Africa, you go to
countries -- my father's country of Kenya,
where oftentimes you've seen tribal conflicts from the
outside you'd think, what are they arguing about? This is a country that
has huge potential. They should be growing,
but instead they spend all their time arguing and
organizing politically only around tribe and
around ethnicity. And then, when one gets on
top, they're suspicious and they're worried that
the other might take advantage of them. And when power shifts,
then it's payback. And we see that in
society after society. The most important thing
young people can do is break out of that mindset. When I was in Korea, I had
a chance to -- or in Tokyo rather -- I had a
chance to see an exhibit with an astronaut, a Japanese
astronaut who was at the International
Space Station and it was looking at the entire
globe and they're tracking now changing weather patterns
in part because it gives us the ability to
respond to disasters quicker. And when you see
astronauts from Japan or from the United States
or from Russia or others working together,
and they're looking down at this planet from a
distance you realize we're all on this little rock in
the middle of space and the differences that seem
so important to us from a distance dissolve
into nothing. And so, we have to have
that same perspective -- respecting everybody,
treating everybody equally under the law. That has to be a principle
that all of you uphold. Great question. (applause) Let me call on
the -- I'm going to go boy, girl, boy, girl so
that everybody gets a fair chance. Let's see, hold on. This gentleman right here,
right there with the glasses. (applause) There you go. Male Speaker: Hello, Mr. President. The President: Hello. Male Speaker: I'm from Malaysia,
currently with YES Alumni Alumni Malaysia. Well, I have a question. I wondered what was your
first project -- community service project that you
didn't like and how did the project impact
your community? Thank you so much. The President: That's
a great question. (applause) I told you that
when I graduated from college, I wanted to work
in poor neighborhoods. And so, I moved to
Chicago and I worked. This community had
gone through some very difficult times. The steel plants there, the steel mills had closed. A lot of manufacturing was
moving out of America or becoming technologically
obsolete, these old mills. And so, these were areas that had been entirely dependent on steel. And as those jobs left,
the communities were being abandoned. And there was also racial
change in the area. They had been
predominantly white, and then blacks and
Latinos had moved in. And there was fear among
the various groups. So they had a
lot of problems. I will tell you this, what
I did was I organized a series of meetings
listening to people to find out what they wanted to do something about first. The most immediate problem
they saw was there was a lot of crime that had
emerged in the area, but they didn't quite know how
to do anything about it. So I organized a meeting
with the police commander, so that they could file
their complaints directly to the police commander
and try to get more action to create more safe space
in those communities for children and to end
people standing on street corners, because it
was depressing the whole community. Now, here's the main
thing I want to tell you. That first meeting,
nobody came. It was a complete failure
and I was very depressed, because I thought, well,
everybody said that they were concerned about
crime, but when I organized the
meeting nobody came. And what it made me
realize is, is that if you want to bring
about change in a community or in a nation it's not going
to happen overnight. Usually, it's very hard
to bring about change, because people are busy
in their daily lives. They have things to do. One of the things I
realized was I hadn't organized the meeting
at the right time. It was right around dinner
time, and if people were working they were coming
home and picking up their kids, and they couldn't
get to the meeting fast enough. So, first of all, you've
got to try to get people involved. And a lot of people are
busy in their own lives or they don't think it's
going to make a difference or they're scared
if they're speaking out against authority. And many of the problems
that we're facing, like trying to create jobs or
better opportunity or dealing with poverty
or dealing with the environment, these are
problems that have been going on for decades. And so, to think that
somehow you're going to change it in a day or
a week, and then if it doesn't happen you just
give up, well, then you definitely won't succeed. So the most important
thing that I learned as a young person trying to
bring about change is you have to be persistent,
and you have to get more people involved, and
you have to form relationships with different groups and
different organizations. And you have to listen to
people about what they're feeling and what they're
concerned about, and build trust. And then, you have to try
to find a small part of the problem and get
success on that first, so that maybe from there you
can start something else and make it bigger and
make it bigger, until over time you are really
making a difference in your community and
in that problem. But you can't
be impatient. And the great thing about
young people is they're impatient. The biggest problem with
young people is they're impatient. It's a strength, because
it's what makes you want to change things. But sometimes, you can be
disappointed if change doesn't happen right
away and then you just give up. And you just have to stay
with it and learn from your failures, as
well as your successes. Anita. Ms. Woo: Mr. President,
thank you very much. We have a question from
our friend in Singapore. He asks, what is the
legacy you wish to leave behind? The President: I've still
got two and a half years left as
President, so I hope he's not rushing me. (laughter) But what is
true is that as President of the United States, you
have so many issues coming at you every day, but
sometimes I try to step back and think
about 20 years from now when I look back what will I be most
proud of or what do I think will be most
important in the work that I've done. Now, my most important
legacy is Malia and Sasha, who are turning out to be
wonderful young people. (applause) So your
children, if you're a parent the most
important legacy you have is great children -- and I have
those -- who are happy and healthy, and I
think they're going to do great things. Another important legacy
is being a good husband. So I've tried to do that. (applause) That's
important, because if you don't do those
things well, then everything else you're going to have
some problems with. (laughter) But I think as President,
what I've tried to do in the United States is
really focus on how do you create opportunity
for all people. And when I first came into
office, we were in a huge financial crisis that
had hit the entire world. And it was the worst
crisis the United States had had since the 1930s. So the first thing I had
to do was just make sure that we stop the crisis
and start allowing the economy to recover. And we've now created more
than 9 million jobs and the economy is beginning
to improve for a lot of people. But what you've also seen
is a trend in the United States but also
around the world in which even when the economy grows, it
tends to benefit a lot of people at the very top,
but the vast majority of people, they don't
benefit as much. And you're starting to see
bigger and bigger gaps in inequality and in wealth
and in opportunity. And that's true not just
in the United States, it's true in Europe; it's long
been true in parts of Asia; it's been true
in Latin America. And I believe that
economies work best when growth and development is
broad-based, when it's shared -- when
ordinary people, if they work hard and they take
responsibility, they can succeed. Not everybody is going to
be rich, but everybody should be able to
live a good life. Not everybody is going
to be a billionaire, but everybody should be able
to have a nice home and educate their children
and feel some sense of security. So that's not something
that I can do by myself as President of the United
States, but everything that I do --
whether it's providing more help for people to go to college,
or giving early childhood education to young
children because we know that the younger children
get some additional schooling, especially poor
children, the better off they'll do
in school for all the years to come, to the work that we're
trying to do in providing health care for all Americans so
that they don't experience a crisis when
somebody in their family gets sick -- all of those efforts are
with the objective of making sure that ordinary
people, if they work hard and act
responsibly, they can succeed. And internationally, my
main goal has been to work with other partners to
promote a system of rules so that conflicts can be
resolved peacefully, so that nations observe basic
rules of behavior, so that whether you're a big
country or a small country, you know that
there are certain principles that are
observed -- that might doesn't just make
right, but that there's a set of ideals and there's
justice both inside countries and between countries. Now, that means trying to
end the proliferation of nuclear weapons, which
are a threat to humanity. And we've made progress in
that front, me negotiating the reduction of
our nuclear stockpiles with the Russians, and trying
to resolve through diplomacy the problem that
Iran has been trying to pursue nuclear weapons,
and working with countries like Malaysia to
prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. That means working to get
chemical weapons out of Syria. It means trying to promote
a just peace between the Israelis and the
Palestinians. It means opening
up to Burma. And I was the first
President to visit there, and seeing if we could
take advantage of the opportunity with Aung
San Suu Kyi's release to create a country that was
a responsible part of the world order. Sometimes our efforts
have been successful; sometimes, as I told this
young man here, my efforts initially haven't been as
successful and I've had to keep on trying. And I am confident that
when I'm done as President there's still going to be
parts of the world that are having war, that are
having conflict, that are oppressing their
own people. So I'm not going to solve
all these problems. I've got to leave some
work for all of you. (laughter) But what I do hope is that
I will have made progress on each of those fronts --
that if when I leave I can say there are a few
more countries that are democracies now and the
United States helped; if there are countries where
I can say -- or areas of the world where I
can say we avoided conflict between two countries
because we helped to mediate a dispute,
I'll be proud of that. If there are countries
where a spotlight has been shined internationally
on the oppression of a minority group and it has
forced that country to change its practices,
that will be a success. I don't consider -- I
don't think I can do that by myself, of course. I can only do that not
only with the cooperation and consultation of other
leaders, but it's also other citizens of
the world -- all of you and people in various regions, they've got to want more justice and more peace in order for us to achieve it. Sometimes the United
States is viewed as, on the one hand, the cause of
everybody's problem, or on the other hand, the United
States is expected to solve everybody's problem. And we are a big, powerful
nation and we take our responsibilities very
seriously, but we can only do so much. Ultimately, the people in
these countries themselves have to partner with
us -- because we have problems in our own country
that we have to solve. But hopefully, I'm also
lifting up certain universal principles
and ideals that all of us can embrace and share. All right, it's
a woman's turn. It's a young woman's turn. I've got to -- let's
see who is back here. No, it's a young
lady's turn. Okay, this young lady
right here -- since the microphone is right there. Female Speaker: Good afternoon,
Mr. President, and welcome to Malaysia. Gathering from what you've
said, I think it's a shared consensus
that youth worldwide can be the catalyst, planting
the seeds for an early conditioning on
certain global issues here. So my question is how
exactly can America lead us youth
internationally in championing such issues, for example,
climate change, women empowerment, poverty
eradication -- the goal being to bring the
human race together? It appears that a lot of
policies have been put in place, but a lot of the
policies that have been put in place by the
Gen Xers, the Baby Boomers. People like us, the Gen
Ys, we don't have a say in this policy, so we are
supposed to champion them, but how are we supposed
to do all these things? The President: I'm trying
to figure out which generation I am. (laughter) You got Baby
Boomers, then Gen X, and then there's a Gen
Y -- we're on Y? Is that Z, are they here
yet, or -- that's next? Well, first of all, just
to be very specific, as I said in my speech, part of
the reason that I like to meet with young people is
to get their suggestions and their ideas. But then what we try to do
is set up a process and a network of young leaders
who can share ideas with each other and with us, to
let us know how they think we can empower you. So coming out of this
meeting, there will be mechanisms through
social media and in our embassies in each of the
10 ASEAN countries where we're going to be bringing
together youth leaders to talk to each other about
their plans, what their priorities are, how
they think the United States can be most helpful. And we're going to
take your suggestions. And let's take the example
of something like climate change. The voice of young people
on this issue is so important because you are
the ones who are going to have to deal with the
consequences of this most significantly. I rode with Prime Minister
Najib from our press conference to the new
MaGIC Center that's been set up -- entrepreneurial
center that came out of our global entrepreneur
summit that was hosted here in Malaysia. And on the ride over, it
hadn't started raining yet, but you could tell it
was going to be raining soon. And he said that here in
Malaysia you've already seen a change in weather
patterns -- it used to be that the dry
season and the rainy season was very clear. Now it all just kind of
is blurring together. Now, not all of that can
be directly attributed precisely to
climate change. But when you look at
what's been happening all across the country or all
around the world, there's no doubt that weather
patterns are changing. It is getting warmer. That is going to have
impacts in terms of more flooding, more
drought, displacement. It could affect
food supplies. It could affect the
incidences of diseases. Coastal communities could
be severely affected. And what happens when
humans are placed under stress is the likelihood
of conflict increases. There is a theory that
one of the things that happened in Syria to
trigger the protests that resulted in the terrible,
violent efforts to suppress them by President
Assad was repeated drought in Syria that drove people
off their land, so they could no longer afford
to make the traditional living that they had made. Now, whether that's true or not we don't know precisely. But what we do know
is that you see in communities that are under
severe weather pressure -- drought, famine, food
prices increasing -- they're more likely
to be in conflict. And you're going to have
to deal with this, unless we do something about it. So the question
is what can we do? Every country should be
coming up with a Climate Action Plan to try
to reduce its carbon emissions. In Southeast Asia, one of
the most important issues is deforestation. In Indonesia and Malaysia,
what you've seen is huge portions of tropical
forests that actually use carbon and so reduce the
effects of climate change, reduce carbon being
released into the atmosphere and warming the
planet -- they're just being shredded
because of primarily the palm oil industry. And there are large
business interests behind that industry. Now, the question is are
we going to in each of those countries say how
can we help preserve these forests while using a
different approach to economic development that
does less to damage the atmosphere? And that means engaging then with the various stakeholders. You've got to talk to
the businesses involved. You've got to talk to
the government, the communities who may be
getting jobs -- because their first priority is
feeding themselves, so if you just say, we've got
to stop cutting down the forests, but you don't
have an alternative opportunity for people
then they may just ignore you. So there are going to be
all kinds of pieces just to that one part
of the problem. And each country may have
a different element to it. The point, though, is that
you have to be part of the solution, not part
of the problem. You have to say,
this is important. You don't have to be a
climate science expert, but you can educate
yourselves on the issue. You can discuss it
with your peer groups. You can organize young
people to interact with international
organizations that are already dealing
with this issue. You can help to
publicize it. You can educate your
parents, friends, coworkers. And through that process, you can potentially change policy. So it may take --
it will take years. It will not
happen next week. But our hope is that
through this network that we're going to be
developing that we can be a partner with you
in that process. So I just want to check
how many -- how much time do we have here? Who is in charge? Ms. Woo: We've got
time, Mr. President. The President:
How much time? Ms. Woo: A couple
more questions. The President: A couple
more questions -- all right, because I just want
to make sure that I'm being fair here. All right, it's
a guy's turn. Let's see -- all right,
how about this guy, because I like his hair
cut, the guy with the spiky hair right there. (applause) Male Speaker: In your opinion,
what are the top three advice to fellow Malaysians and
government to become a developed country
in six years' time? As this is one of
country's missions and I think it's important for
fellow Malaysians to contribute together in
order to achieve that. Thank you. (applause) The President: Well, I had
an extensive conversation with Prime Minister Najib
about his development strategy. First of all, Malaysia is now a middle-income country. It's done much better than
many other countries in per capita income and
growth over the last two decades, and there's been
some wise leadership that has helped to promote
Malaysian exports and to help to train its people. You've got high literacy
rates, which is critically important. Investing in people is
the single most important thing in the
knowledge economy. Traditionally, wealth
was defined by land and natural resources. Today the most important
resources is between our ears. And Malaysia has made a
good investment in young people. So that continues to be I
think the most important strategy for growth
in the 21st century. And in the United States,
my main focus is improving our education
system and lifelong learning. Because part of what's
changed in the economy -- in the 20th century, you
got a change at a company, you might stay
there for 30 years; things didn't change that much. Now you may be at one
company and that company may be absorbed, and you
might have to retrain for a new job because the
thing that you were doing before has been made
obsolete because of technology. So we have to keep on
investing in not only elementary school and
secondary school and even universities. But in the United States,
for example, we have a system of community
colleges and job training where somebody who's in
their 30s or even 40s or 50s can go back, get
retrained, get more skills, adapt to a new
industry, and then be a productive citizen. That's a critical
investment that needs to be made. The second thing that I
know Prime Minister Najib is focused on -- and this
applies throughout the region -- is if you want
to move to the next level of development, then you have to open up an economy to
innovation and entrepreneurship. The initial push for
growth in Southeast Asia initially started with
exporting raw materials, and then shifted to
manufacturing and light assembly and being
part of the global supply chain. And that's all a very
important ladder into development. But now a lot of wealth
is being created by new products and new ideas. And at least in the United
States, for example, we don't want to just
assemble the latest smartphone, we want
to invent the latest smartphone. We want to invent the apps
and the content for those smartphones. And then we have an
asset that whoever is manufacturing it, some of
the value is still flowing to us. Well, what that requires
then is changes in the economy to make it more
open, to make it more entrepreneurial. Some of the old systems
have to be broken down. Now, different countries
in ASEAN and different countries around the world
are at different stages of development. In some countries, the
most important thing for development is just basic
rule of law, and something that I said
earlier, which is making sure that the law applies to
everybody in the same way. I believe if Malaysia is
going to take that next leap, then it's going to
have to make sure that the economy is one where
everybody has the opportunity, regardless
of where they started, to succeed. (applause) And that energy
has to be unleashed. And I think Prime Minister
Najib understands that. And the trade agreement
that we're trying to create, the TPP, part of
what we're trying to do is to create higher
standards for labor protection, higher standards for
environmental protection, more consistent protection of intellectual property -- because increasingly that's the next phase of wealth. All those things require
more transparency and more accountability and more
rule of law, and I think that it's entirely
consistent with Malaysia moving into
the next phase. Now, it's hard to change
old ways of doing things -- and that's true
for every country. I mean, China right now,
after unprecedented growth over the last 20 years,
realizes it's got to change its whole strategy. It's been so
export-oriented, but now they're starting to
realize that if they want to continue to grow
they've got to develop consumer markets inside
their own country. And what that means is, is
that they've got to give workers more ability to
spend on consumer goods, and that they have to have
a social safety net so that workers aren't just
saving all the time, because if they get sick
they don't have any social insurance programs and
they don't have any retirement groups. And so they're starting
to make these shifts, but these are hard shifts. Even in a country that's
controlled by the central party that's
not democratic. It's because certain
people have gotten accustomed to and done
very well with an export-driven strategy. So when you shift, there's
going to be somebody who resists. That's true in
every country. It's true in the
United States. We've got to change
how we do things. And when you try to
change, somebody somewhere is benefiting
from the status quo. Malaysia is no different. But I'm confident that
you can make it happen. I'll take two
more questions. And it's a young
lady's turn. So, guys, you can all
put down your hands. (laughter) Let's see --
this young lady with the yellow. Female Speaker: Good morning. I'm from Indonesia. The President: Apa kabar? Female Speaker: Baik-baik saja. The President: Baik. Female Speaker: Well, okay, I
have a very short question. What does happiness
mean for you? The President: What does
happiness mean to me? Female Speaker: Yes. The President: Wow, you
guys -- that's a big, philosophical question. (applause) I mentioned
earlier my family, and it really is true that the
older I get the more -- when I think about when
I'm on my deathbed -- I mean, I don't think
about this all the time. (laughter) I don't want
you to think -- I'm still fairly young. But when I think, at the
end of my life and I'm looking back, what will
have been most important to me, I think it's the
time I will have spent with the people I love. And so that
makes me happy. But I also think that, as
I get older, what's most important to me is
feeling as if I've been true to my beliefs and that I've
lived with some integrity. Now, that doesn't always
make you happy in the sense of you're laughing
or just enjoying life -- because sometimes, being
true to your beliefs is uncomfortable. Sometimes doing things
that you think are right may put you in some
conflict with somebody. Sometimes people may not
appreciate it and it may be inconvenient. But I think that part of
being satisfied at least with life as you get
older is feeling as if you know that every day you wake up
and there's certain things you believe in -- for
example, respecting other people, or
showing kindness to others, or trying to promote justice,
or whatever it is that you think is best in
you -- that at the end of each day you can say, okay,
you know what, I was consistent with what I say
I'm about, what I say I believe in -- the
image I have of myself. And when I'm uncomfortable
is when I think, you know, I didn't do my best today. Maybe I didn't speak out
when I should have spoken out. Maybe I didn't work as
hard on this issue as I should have worked. Then I'm tossing and
turning and I don't feel good. And I think that having
that kind of integrity is important -- where you can
look at yourself in the mirror and you can say,
okay, I am who I want -- who I say I want to be. And nobody is perfect and
everybody is going to make mistakes, but I think if
you feel as if you're always striving
towards your ideals, then you'll feel okay at the end. Okay, last question. And it's -- let's see. No, no, it's a
guy's question. Women, put down
your hands. (laughter) Okay, I'll call
on this gentleman here because he -- there you
go, with the glasses. Male Speaker: Good evening, Mr.
President Obama. I'm from Malaysia. I'm an undergrad from
University of Malaya. So my question is, in your
position right now, what values that you uphold the
most that you think is very important, that makes
you what you are today? And what do you wish to
bring that value to the young people of today
that can change the world to become a better world? Thank you. The President:
Well, thank you. I'm going to take another
question after that, because I've already
answered this question. Wait, wait, wait -- let me -- (laughter) -- let me explain the -- what I
think is most important is showing people respect who
you disagree with, right? (applause) And so, for
example, there's a note over there -- I
don't know what those young people are putting a note about
-- but I think that the basic idea that if
somebody is not like you, if they look differently
than you, if they believe differently than you --
that you are treating them as you want to be treated. If you are applying those
ideas, I think you're going to be halfway there
in terms of solving most of the world's problems. And a lot of that is
around some of the traditional divisions
that we have in our society -- race, ethnicity,
religion, gender. Treat people with respect,
whoever they are, and expect your governments
to treat everybody with respect. (applause) And if you do
that, then you're going to be okay. All right, last question. Young ladies -- wait,
wait, wait, everybody put down their hands
for a second. Okay, now I've heard from
-- I've had an Indonesian, a Malaysian, a
Cambodian, Myanmar. Thailand didn't
get called on. So I think -- all
right, Thailand. Where -- okay. And the Philippines --
well, see, I can't call on everybody. (laughter) Thailand said
-- they were the first ones to shout. Go ahead, this young
lady right here. Female Speaker: Hi, President. Very short question. What are the things that
you regret now that you have done in the past? The President: What are
the things that I regret? Oh, the list is so long. (laughter) I regret
calling on you, because now I'm going to be
telling everybody my business. (laughter) No, I'm just
joking about that. (laughter) I'm now 52. And I still feel
pretty good. I'm a little gray-haired. But I will tell you two
things I regret -- one is very specific, one
is more general. The specific thing is I
regret not having spent more time with my mother. Because she died early
-- she got cancer right around when she was my
age, actually, she was just a year older than
I am now -- she died. It happened very fast,
in about six months. And I realized that --
there was a stretch of time from when I was,
let's say, 20 until I was 30 where I was so
busy with my own life that I didn't always reach
out and communicate with her and ask her how she was
doing and tell her about things. I was nice and I'd call
and write once in a while. But this goes to what I
was saying earlier about what you remember in the
end I think is the people you love. I realized that I didn't--
every single day, or at least more often, just
spend time with her and find out what she was
thinking and what she was doing, because
she had been such an important part of my life. Now, that's natural
as young people. As you grow up, you
become independent. But for those of you who
have not called their parents lately, I would
just say that that is something, actually,
that I regret. The more general answer
is I regret wasting time. I think when I was young
I spent a lot of time on things that I realize now
were not very important and I wish I had used
my time more wisely. Now, I don't want people
to spend every minute of every day working all the
time, because you have to enjoy life and you have to
have friends and you have to appreciate all that
life has to offer. But I do think that in
America at least, but now I think worldwide, we
spend an awful lot of time on diversions -- watching
TV or playing video games. And all that time, when
you add it all up, I say to myself, I could have
spent more time learning a foreign language, or I
could have spent more time working on a project
that was important. And I think it would be
useful for all of you to consider how you're
spending your time and make sure that you're
making every day count. Let me just say this by
way of thank you to all of you. I think you've asked
terrific questions. I'm so impressed with all
of you and what you have done and what you'll
do in the future. I do want you to feel
optimistic about your future. Even though I told you
about some problems like climate change that seem
so big now, I always say -- we get White
House interns to come in and they work at the White
House, and they're there for six months, and then I
usually speak to them at the end of six months. And I always tell them
that despite how hard sometimes the world seems
to be, and all you see on television is
war and conflict and poverty and violence, the truth is
that if you had to choose when to be born, not
knowing where or who you would be, in all of
human history, now would be the time. Because the world is less
violent, it is healthier, it is wealthier, it is
more tolerant and it offers more opportunity
than any time in human history for more people
than any time in human history. Now, that doesn't mean
that there aren't still terrible things happening
around the world or in this region. We still have things
like human trafficking. And we still have terrible
abuse of children. And there are conflicts. And so these are things
that we're going to have to tackle and deal with. But you should know that
with each successive generation
things have improved just a little bit. And over time, that
little bit adds to a lot. And it's now up to you,
the next generation, to make sure that 20 years
from now, or 30 years from now, people
look back and say, wow, things are a lot better now than
they were back then. And there will still be
problems 20 or 30 years from now also. But they will be different
problems, because you will have solved
many of the problems that exist
today. And America wants to be a
partner with you in that process, so good luck. Thank you, everybody. (applause) Ms. Woo: Thank you very
much, Mr. President. It's been a wonderful
opportunity and we appreciate it very much. The President: Thank
you, everybody. (applause)
