President Obama:
Hello, everybody! Everybody have a seat. Thank you so much. Well, good afternoon. (applause) Thank you. This is a very
good-looking group. (laughter) I want to thank Carrie for
the introduction and your outstanding work to
empower women in Singapore. Give Carrie a big
round of applause. (applause) It is wonderful to
be back in Malaysia. I want to thank everybody
at Taylor's University for hosting us. Give them a big
round of applause. (applause) And I want to thank the
government and the people of Malaysia for their
hospitality and leadership this year in hosting ASEAN. Selamat petang. (laughter) I was just at the APEC
Summit in the Philippines. (applause) The Philippines
are in the house. (applause) So I just landed a few
minutes ago and this is my first stop. Summits like APEC and
ASEAN are important, and I meet with all these
leaders and we take pictures and we talk about
all kinds of things. So I don't mind spending
time with older folks -- like me. (laughter) But one of the things that
I love doing most on these trips is the time I spend
with young people like you, because your energy and your
idealism and your optimism -- because that reflects the
future and the promise of the ASEAN region. I'm not going to give a long
speech because this is a town hall and I want to
spend most of my time in a conversation with you. I did one of these when I
was here in K-L last year. Once again, what I really
want to do is take your questions, have a
conversation about your hopes and your ideas,
how you see the future. But I do want to briefly
explain why I believe a partnership with
America is so important. As you know, I've got a
strong personal connection to Southeast Asia. I spent time as a
young boy in Indonesia. (applause) Indonesia is in the house. My sister, Maya, is
half-Indonesian -- she was born in Jakarta. My mother spent years
working in rural villages in this region,
empowering women. And so the rich tradition
of the Pacific -- the food, the people -- which I like
the people and I really like the food -- (laughter) -- this is part of who I
am and how I see the world. But even if I didn't have
that special attachment, I would still know that the
United States has to be a partner with Southeast Asia. It's critical for
our shared future. It's home to so
much of humanity, home to some of the world's
fastest-growing economies. And that's a key focus
of my foreign policy -- deepening engagement with
nations and peoples in this region. And we've been very
successful over the last several years,
making great strides. We've strengthened
our alliances. We've deepened our
partnerships with emerging countries and
institutions like ASEAN. We recently negotiated
the landmark Trans-Pacific Partnership to grow our
economies and support jobs in each of our countries. Together, we're working to
stand up for human rights and democracy. And I want to commend,
in particular, the people of Myanmar for
their participation in last week's historic election. (applause) It's another critical step
in their transition to a more peaceful and prosperous
and democratic Myanmar. But as important
as they are, security alliances and trade
agreements are not enough. Governments and even
businesses don't have all the solutions. We've got to have a
relationship that's from the bottom up, not just
from the top down, not just among the most
wealthy or powerful, but also from ordinary
people who are trying to give opportunity
to everybody. And so that people-to-people
relationship is what's really important, and
relationships between young people within the region and
within the United States is what's really important. Connecting with each other,
understanding each other can have a profound impact
-- whether it's student exchange program or Yuna
doing a duet with Usher. Think about it. Here in the ASEAN region, 65
percent of the population is under 35 years
old -- 65 percent. That's like 600 million
people -- that's a lot of people. Young people like you are
going to define the future of this region for
decades to come. And thanks to technology
and social media, you're more connected to
each other than ever before; you're more connected to
the world than ever before. I can barely
keep up with you. I've got to get help from
Malia and Sasha just to figure out how
to use the phone. (laughter) And perhaps more than any
generation in human history, you have the power to change
your communities and your countries and the world. And at a time when we face
enormous global challenges -- from the environment and
climate change to empowering women, to income inequality
and small business development -- we have to
have your talents and we have to have your skills. Now, a lot of us have been
thinking about the horrific attacks in Paris. And when you think about the
terrible vision of those who carried out those attacks,
and you contrast that with the young people who
are represented here, who are building things,
and helping each other, and creating businesses and
opportunities for themselves and for others, and when you
think about the incredible potential of ASEAN as a
place of religious diversity and ethnic diversity --
you can set an example, not just to stand up
to violent extremism, but to build interfaith
dialogue, promote tolerance, and to combine an
appreciation of your own culture and traditions
with the modern world. And for all these
reasons, two years ago, we launched YSEALI -- the Young Southeast Asia Leaders Initiative. And the goal is to empower
young people like you with the skills and the resources
and the networks so you can turn your ideas into action. And since then, our YSEALI
Network has grown to more than 55,000 members across
10 ASEAN countries -- we're still growing. We've held nine
regional exchanges. We're offering workshops
and online networking and hands-on training. We started a grant
competition to support you as you work together across
countries to tackle regional issues like climate change. I want to commend Malaysia
for its new partnership with the Peace Corps to create
a Malaysian volunteer corps that works in underserved communities in other ASEAN countries. That's part of the
spirit of YSEALI. And as part of our
YSEALI Fellowship, we've now welcomed more than
300 young people from across ASEAN to the United States,
with another 200 who are coming in the
next six months. So these Fellows study
in American universities. They experience our state
and local government. They work in our
nonprofit sector. They intern in major U.S. companies. I welcomed some Fellows
to the White House. And then they take these
experiences home and they apply them to
their communities. And they're not just
learning from the people that they're working with in
the United States -- they're learning from each other
as part of network. So they come back, they're
launching their own businesses. They're advocating for an
end to human trafficking, or expanding women's
rights, fighting corruption, promoting transparency
and good governance. The point is, every day,
the young men and women of YSEALI are making a
difference across this region. And just as important as the
tools and the skills that you're gaining is the
connections that you're creating, because as part
of the YSEALI Network, you're forging friendships
that you'll draw on for a lifetime. And you're sharing ideas and
learning from each other. Because when you're trying
to turn that idea into a business, or start a
new civic organization, or even running for office,
it helps to have people who understand the kind of
change that you're trying to make -- and who you
can go to for help and encouragement. And maybe they have some
experiences that are relevant to what
you're trying to do. So as young people, you
have to stand together. And that's why YSEALI is
so important -- because, of all the challenges and
threats that the world faces, I am absolutely
confident that young people like you -- with your
passion and drive and commitment -- you can
make a difference. And I know you will. You already are. So before I open it
up for questions, one of the things I want
to do is just call on a few people who have been part of
the YSEALI Network so they can give you just some
examples of the great work that they're doing. Also I want some of the
older people here to hear about the wonderful things
that YSEALI is doing. So I've got three
individuals that I want to call on first, and then I'm
just going to open it up and we'll have a good
conversation. So, first, we're going to
have Htoo Kyaw Win from Burma who's working on
behalf of human rights and civil society organizations
as part of the transition to democracy. (applause) Go ahead, please. Htoo Kyaw Win: Thank you
so much, Mr. President. It's a pleasure for me. Over 10 years ago, I cannot
imagine that I will be here now, because, as you
know, Myanmar people have sustained the military
regime for a long time. But after 2010
elections, as you know, a little transparency. So I joined -- in 2013,
I founded the Knowledge Society that is a
publication house which focuses on the human
rights and democracy issue. I am one of the editors of
the Journal on Human Rights and Democracy. That is a journal of human
rights in Myanmar after 2010. And then, last spring, I
joined the YSEALI program -- except to say that is
the ACYPL program -- the American Council of
Young Political Progress. So I applied to the program. I was in Washington, D.C. I
was walking in the Amnesty International -- even I
didn't have -- across the ASEAN country. But after I applied
this program, I got now so many
ASEAN countries, especially my friends
from Indonesia, who always talk about
their transition. And we, Myanmar people,
always compare with the transitional period and
democratization progress in Indonesia. We always talk
about Indonesia. So I can learn some
knowledge and ideas and experience from my
friends in Indonesia. So that is why -- YSEALI
program inspire me too much, before and after very,
very different for me. So I do encourage you guys
to look toward the future. And, by the way, I really
thank you, Mr. President, because I noticed that
actually one of your policies -- engagement
policy I admire most because you use this policy as
a test in Myanmar -- transparency and open
to the democracy. Just now, recently, our
historic and successful election has been. So that is one of the
outcome of your engagement policy. And the other outcome is me
and my friends from there, Myanmar. One of my friends from here,
he is actually a former political prisoner. He was sentenced to prison. He's now studying in the
Australian university. His subject is
political science. Now, (inaudible) human rights. I am the
chairperson of that. (applause) Yes, thank you. My program just provided
initiatives across the country. Now, I am working for
promoting the human rights and democracy in Myanmar --
not only Myanmar but also the world, especially
the South Asian region. Thank you so much. (applause) President Obama: Fantastic. Well, thank you, Htoo Kyaw. That was an outstanding
presentation. And we are feeling
optimistic about what can happen in Myanmar, in part
because of young people like you. Next, we've got Choon Sian
Choo from Malaysia who is training young people
in entrepreneurship. (applause) Choon Sian Choo: Thank
you, Mr. President. And it's such an
honor to be here. My name is Choon
Sian from Malaysia, and I'm the founder of
this youth development organization
called LifeChamp. So, in Malaysia, we have the
highest household debt in ASEAN. And our youth
holding a massive (inaudible) and eventually, the result is seeking credit counseling. So what we do through our
master program is to teach them to have good money
habits, good money beliefs, teach them some money
management skills, personal financial
planning, and how to do that investment. So YSEALI program has
helped me tremendously in my endeavor. So, through YSEALI, I
was flown to Washington, D.C. to participate
in the global summit. I get to learn -- I joined
the financial inclusion track, which I got to learn
from some of the world's best minds on how I can
structure the more effective financial education
curriculum. So, upon my return, I took
the ideas and came back, and restructured my program,
improved my curriculum. And eventually, YSEALI
helped me to launch a series of campaigns and workshops
nationwide to reach out to the underprivileged children
and underprivileged students to teach them about to
be more money-smart. And the other way we do is
talk about entrepreneurship and social
entrepreneurship, as well. So I want to thank the
President for such a marvelous initiative. And because of that, I
learned and I benefitted. Thank you so much. (applause) President Obama: Thank you. So finally, we've got
Chindavone Sanlath from Laos, who is dedicating
herself to protecting the environment. Chindavone. (applause) Chindavone Sanlath:
Thank you very much, Mr. President. I am very, very happy
to be here today. I am Chindavone, a
YSEALI alumni from Laos. I was born in one of the
most remote parts of Laos. And my father passed
away before I was born. And because of
my background, I never thought that one day
I would be able to help my community, to make some
changes to my community. Because of YSEALI, now
my thoughts changed. Being a part of YSEALI
expanded my thinking and enabled me to see the
challenges facing my communities, and empowered
me to be a part of the solution. I'm now working with a
project called Forest Law Enforcement -- which aims to promote legal timber trade and sustainable
forest management. I have already been able to
apply the lessons I learned in Montana to help improve
forest management in Laos. YSEALI is my
life-changing chapter. Thank you very much. (applause) President Obama: Thank you. So you can tell, just
talking to these young people, the incredible
things that they're already doing. I am wondering, was
it cold in Montana? (laughter) Did you have a big coat? Chindavone Sanlath: No. President Obama: No,
when you were in Montana, did you have to
wear a big coat? Or was it -- Chindavone Sanlath:
Oh, no, no -- President Obama:
It was okay? You're tough -- because
Montana is cold. (laughter) But maybe -- I guess if
it was in the summer, it was okay. It's beautiful there. But this just gives you some
sense of the incredible work that's already being done
by so many of these young people. So, with that, I want to
open it up for questions, comments, ideas. Here's what I'm
going to do, though, is I'm going to call -- I'm
going to go boy, girl, boy, girl. That way we can make
sure that it's fair. I'm also going to take off
my jacket because it's a little warm. (laughter) And I know you may ask
me some tough questions, so I want to -- (applause) -- okay, so let's who's
going to go first. I'm going to call this
young lady right here, in the green. And if you can please
introduce yourself first, and then the question
or the comment. The Press: Hi. Thank you, Mr. President. My name is Elizabeth
and I'm from Indonesia. President Obama:
Hey, apa kabar? The Press: (speaks Indonesian) President Obama:
Dari mana Jakarta? The Press: Jakarta. (applause) Recently, you had a
discussion about the role of the entrepreneurs to
tackle climate change. So my question is basically
-- because some of us here are entrepreneurs. We are not yet
political leaders, but we are entrepreneurs. So what is your expectation
from entrepreneurs, young fellows, YSEALI
for the climate change? President Obama: Good. The Press: And also -- President Obama: Yes? (laughter) The Press: For the upcoming U.N. climate change in Paris, whether you are optimistic the response of that. President Obama: What kind
of business do you want to start? The Press: Now I'm in the
energy and environment, so I -- President Obama: Do you
already have a business going, or you have an
idea that you want to do? The Press: Not yet. I have an idea about
what to create. President Obama: Excellent. Okay. The Press: Thank you. President Obama: Thank you. Well, first of all, I think
that so many of the young people here understand
why climate change is so important. The science is very clear
that because of the carbon emissions that we send
in, mostly from the use of fossil fuels -- oil, gas,
coal -- the temperatures worldwide, on average,
are getting higher. And that begins to
change weather patterns. The oceans begin
to get warmer. The ice in the Arctic
begins to melt. And you get a feedback loop
that as things get warmer that creates even more of
a trend towards warming. And if we don't stop the
amount of carbon that we send up, and we don't find
new ways of creating energy, then you'll see
the oceans rise, more extreme weather events,
more drought, more flooding, bigger hurricanes, typhoons. And it could have a
devastating effect on countries all
around the world. And probably the biggest
effect will be on poorer countries who don't have
as much infrastructure to protect themselves. So this is not just an
environmental issue, but it's also a
development issue. And once it starts,
it's hard to reverse. So this has to be one of
our highest priorities, but it's a hard issue to
deal with because it doesn't happen right away. It happens gradually. And so people
always think, well, that's something we don't
have to worry about now. But if we don't
get started now, it's going to be too late. So we have to be wise and
think about the future. And young people especially,
you have to care about this a lot, because if you
don't do anything about it, you're the ones who are
going to have to deal with it. I'll be gone. But you'll have
to deal with it, and your children and
your grandchildren. So business has an important
role to play in this because, first of all, a lot
of the carbon pollution is created by industry
for energy production, for electricity
production, power plants, transportation. And one of the things that
we're trying to do is to encourage companies to both
become more efficient so that they're
using less energy, which means that they can
produce the same amount with less electricity or
less oil or less gas. Also, transition to
new energy forms, like solar or wind
that are clean. And create, through research
and development and new products, new ways
of producing energy. So when I was in
the Philippines, I was with Jack Ma, who
was the founder of Alibaba, and that's a huge company
that is really the leader in e-commerce in Asia. But I was also with a young
woman who had just invented a lamp that could generate
energy with sea water. So she could just take one
cup of water and two tablets of salt, or take seawater
potentially from the ocean, and it would create
eight hours of light, instead of using kerosene. So she's now trying to get
funding to manufacture and distribute this lamp
that she has created. So business is going to be
critical in dealing with climate change, because
sometimes -- especially in poor countries --
people think, well, we don't have to worry about
the environment because first we have to develop and
create businesses and become wealthier, and then we
can worry later about the environment. But part of what I'm trying
to persuade business is that you have start now,
and there's business opportunities -- you can
make money in clean energy, instead of using
dirty energy. And more and more
businesses, I think, are beginning to
realize that there's no contradiction. And the same is true
in countries as well. If you look at a country
like China that has developed to fast, but
now they can't breathe in Beijing because the
pollution can be so bad, and they're starting to
realize that if they want to sustain their development,
they've got to start using different production models. And businesses can help
to design new ways of manufacturing, new ways
of developing energy. So we really want to
encourage businesses to get involved, and they can
make money doing it. The most polluting
industries are typically the old-fashioned industries,
the old ways of doing business. I know that people
here, for example, have been dealing with smoke
from the peat fires that are coming over from Indonesia. Well, the palm oil industry,
that's not a high-value industry. I mean, that's not something
that's going to develop a strong middle class and
business opportunities over the long term. It's just a classic
extractive industry or commodity industry. And in the modern economy,
you want to be inventing new products and services rather
than just figuring out what you can take out
of the ground. And so I'm encouraging both
governments and businesses to start thinking about
the opportunities of clean energy. In Paris, our hope is to get
all the countries to agree that they will set targets
for reducing carbon emissions. It won't be the same
for every country. More developed countries,
they should do more. Less developed, they don't
have to do as much because they haven't contributed so
much to carbon pollution. But everybody has
to do something. And what we want to do is
have each country try to create incentives
for businesses, whether it's tax breaks or
investments in research so that businesses can work
alongside communities to try to solve the problem. And I feel optimistic
that we'll get it done. It won't be as strong
initially as it needs to be eventually, but if we start
now and everybody agrees that this is important
and we don't something, then I'm confident that
we'll be able to solve the problem. Okay? (speaks Indonesian) (applause) All right. So it's a young man's turn. This young man in the
blue tie right here. Yeah, you. Hold on one second. The Press: So, good
afternoon, Mr. President. My name is Alfeus. I'm from Malaysia. President Obama:
Did you say Elvis? The Press: Sorry,
no -- not Elvis. Alfeus. President Obama:
Alfeus, okay. Because I was thinking we
had Elvis in the building. (laughter) Alfeus. That's a cool name. The Press: Thanks. The same as yours. (laughter and applause) So my fellow YSEALI cohorts
and I are actually results of your vision, so
thank you for that. And we're very glad to have
you hear with us talking about democracy and
freedom of speech. Malaysia is currently
embroiled in a political scandal. And its failed justice
system can bring no rights. Therefore, as thankful
as I am for this, I would like to take this
opportunity to ask you for your assistance in raising
this issue to the Prime Minister of Malaysia, and
encourage transparency and independence of
operations -- (applause) -- for the Malaysia
Anti-Corruption Commission, Public Accounts
Committee, Bank Nagara, and all media organizations. So, thank you. President Obama:
Well, I will do it. (laughter) Now, I admit that I was
going to do it anyway, but now that I
hear it from you, I'm definitely
going to do it. (applause) Now, keep in mind,
the United States, we always have to be a
little careful because we're such a large country and
we have a lot of influence, I think there are times
sometimes when people say they don't want us meddling
in their internal affairs. And the United States has to
have some humility because there have been times where
we did the wrong thing. There have been times where
we have problems in our own country. And so we will want to go
tell other people what to do, but then back home we're
not always doing what we say we should do. But I do believe that there
are basic values that we all share. And one of those values is
that countries work best when everybody has a voice
that can be respected, and that the press is
able to report on what is happening in
current affairs, and people can organize
politically peacefully to try to bring about
change, and that there's transparency and
accountability. And when you look at which
countries have done best in terms of development,
typically over time, those countries that have
some accountability and some measure of personal
freedom tend to do better. And those countries that
don't, have more problems. So whenever I meet in
international forums, like APEC or ASEAN, or
whenever I meet with individual leaders, I try to
encourage them to move more in the direction
of transparency, accountability, to empower
people so that they can participate in civil life. And I always want to be
honest with people whenever I talk to folks, that that
doesn't mean that we don't do business with countries
sometimes just because we have shared security
interests or economic interests. I have to meet with
President Xi of China, even though I may not agree
with the approach of his government towards
human rights, because China is such a big
country -- and on something like climate change,
if we don't cooperate, then we won't
solve the problem. There are occasions
everywhere in the world where I will meet, and
the United States has a relationship and
cooperates with a country, even though their human
rights record may not be good. But I want to assure
you that in all of those meetings, we always
raise these issues. And part of what we're
trying to do also is to create international
support for these issues. So one of the things that
I did at the U.N., for example, was something call the Open Government Partnership. And the idea behind the Open
Government Partnership is that every country each
year makes a pledge for what they're going to do to make
themselves more accountable, more open, more transparent,
to root out corruption. And not everybody starts
out at the same place. But just by encouraging
people to put out plans, even if they don't always
meet the plans right away, it raises the standards
and the sights of people, and encourages people to
aspire to improvements. It's just like democracy. When we were hearing
about Myanmar, and they talked about
Indonesia as an example -- well, Indonesia, when I was
living there as a child, was not a democracy. It was basically you had
President Suharto and you had the military, and there
weren't elections every few years. And it didn't
happen right away; the transition
took some time. But as long as we keep on
encouraging that kind of change, I think we really
can make a difference. The Press: Thank you. President Obama: Thank you. Good question. (applause) That young lady right there. You. Yes, you. (applause) The Press: Good afternoon,
President Obama. Thank you for coming
to the Philippines. So I'm a farmer and chairman of Agricultural Assistance, internationally. Actually, it is also
a partner of U.S. Embassy Public
Affairs in Manila. We are helping them to send
four young fellows in the professional
fellowship program. And we're trying to make
farming cool, smart, sexy and humane in
the Philippines. (laughter) President Obama:
Okay. The Press: Yes, because
when I spoke in the World Economic Forum and I said
let's make farming sexy in front of our President
in the Philippines and it became a headline, including
a program about this. (laughter) We've been helping a lot of
farmers in the Philippines and now including fishermen. And I know you have a garden
in the White House by the First Lady, and thank
the First Lady for that. It's a common denominator,
problem in ASEAN countries right now that our farmers
are endangered species. They're getting older -- the
average age is 57 years old. And there is a diminishing
interest for the young people to be involved
in agriculture. And speaking of
climate change, in connection to agriculture
and, exponentially, building population, how do
you see the importance of young people to be involved
in not just food production but also for the stage -- President Obama: I think
that's a great question. (applause) A great question. So, first of all, although
interest among young people in farming may
be diminishing, if you look at the
ASEAN countries, the majority of people are
still making their living on the land, and you still have
a lot of subsistence farming and small plots. And any country that is
still in development stage has to focus on agriculture. That's true in Africa. That's true in
Latin America. It's true here in
the ASEAN countries. And it depends on the
country, obviously, but typically, the first
step is to help each farmer become more efficient. Because usually farmers are
not -- in poor countries, they're usually not using
all the agricultural technology that
is available. And some of it
is very simple, and some of it
is very cheap, but they don't have
the information. So one of the things
that we're trying to do, through a program
called Feed the Future, is to find farmers, work
with countries to just give them basic seeds,
irrigation practices, how do you improve
your yields. And we've been able to see
-- because it's starting at such a low point -- farmers
doubling their yields on the same amount of land without
a lot of mechanization, without big capital
expenditures. Once they are able to
increase production, then the next step is making
sure that they get a fair price. And one of the things that's
been really interesting is the power of the Internet
to empower farmers, because in most
countries these days, even in rural areas,
people have a cellphone. And so part of what we're
helping people to do is to find out what are the market
prices for their products on a day-to-day basis on their
cellphones so that they don't get cheated. They know what it's being
sold -- how much it's being sold in the city, so now
whoever the middleman is, they know that they should
be asking for a certain price for their crops, and
they can start planning in terms of how much
grain, versus fruits and vegetables, or what have
you, that they're farming. And that can also
increase their incomes, not just their production. Once you do that, then they
can start buying some -- for example, one of the programs
we're seeing is an entire village sharing one tractor. It's sort of like
an Uber for farmers. (laughter) So instead of -- it's so
expensive to buy an entire tractor, a lot of farmers
can't afford that, but if you set up a system
where you can buy a tractor and then, essentially, they
can rent that tractor or timeshare that
tractor, now, suddenly, that also produces
increased yields. And then the next stage
is to think about, okay, instead of just producing
the product itself, can we also then do
some of the processing? And you can start putting
together cooperatives, for example, for food
processing so that you're moving up the value chain. But the point is, is that
when we start thinking about agriculture not just as
subsistence but also how is it interacting
with the market, how are you
applying technology, now it starts looking
kind of sexy -- (laughter) -- because you can actually
-- a young person can, instead of moving
to the city, they can stay in their
village and watch slowly their standards of living
improve and begin to create small businesses, and the
entire community can rise even as their own
prospects improve. And so this is something
that we're really going to try and focus on. And we're working with
governments, but also NGOs, to try to do as much of
this work as possible. But I think you're raising
an important point. We see this in the
United States as well, that a lot of young people
don't think that farming is a high ambition. And we want to encourage
people to recognize that working on the land is a
wonderful and important thing. And if we're going to feed
enough people then we've got to have more farmers. And we've also got to make
sure that they're getting good terms on loans, because
oftentimes what holds them back is just having
enough capital, just a little bit of seed
capital in order to be able to do what they need to do. So, good luck. Keep up the great work. (applause) All right, let's see. Hold on. This young man in
the purple shirt. That's a nice-looking shirt. (applause) Now, why was everybody
cheering for him? I mean, he does look nice
in his purple shirt, but -- (laughter) The Press: Thank you,
President, and greetings. My name is Deng. I'm from Cambodia. My question is, since many
people have focused on a lot of high issue, I
want to go low. (laughter) President Obama: How
low are you going to go? (laughter) The Press: I have no idea. So the question I want
to ask you is that since yourself is aging to
a very senior life -- (laughter) President Obama:
That's pretty low. (laughter and applause) The Press: I'm
sorry, President. (laughter) Okay, just go
straight the question. (laughter) President Obama: Yes. The Press: So how do you
see your kids and the young people, the young leaders
as the -- between the old people and the young people? Because from my society, the
gap between the old and the young is very divided. So I want to see your
perspective to what -- what is your initiative and what
is your will as a President, a person who see
a lot of problems. So what do you want to see
from young people like us in the future when
you get old -- (laughter) -- I think you get
my question, right? President Obama: I
got your question. Sit down. (laughter) Well, the first thing I want
from young people is to stop calling me old. (laughter and applause) Come on. You hurt my feelings. (laughter) Well, look, we all
get old, it's true. (laughter) And when I came into office
I had no grey hair and now I have a lot. (laughter) Although I will tell you
that I don't dye my hair, and a lot of my
fellow leaders do. (laughter) I'm just saying. (applause) I won't say who. (laughter) But their barbers know,
their hairdressers. I think the most important
thing for young people is that they're not
trapped in the past. And human progress is driven
by looking at a problem with fresh eyes, with new eyes. And as you get older,
what happens is, is that you just get in the
habit of seeing the same thing and it becomes
routine to you, normal. But when you're young,
you ask or question, well, why does it have
to be this way? Why does my community
have to be poor? Why do we have to have
pollution in the air? Why do we treat women
differently than men when it comes to being able to
go to college and get an education? Why should we discriminate
against a minority group in our country? And that's the power of
young people, is asking why. Little kids, they
naturally do that, right? When you talk to a
four-year-old or a five-year-old, six-year-old,
you tell them to do something -- "Why?" "Why?" And sometimes, as
parents, we try to say, "because I told you so." (laughter) And we don't want to
talk about it, right? But that impulse to ask
why is actually what drives human progress. That's the reason that the
steam engine was created. That's the reason the
Internet was created. That's the reason that
Martin Luther King was able to march and change America. That's the reason that
Gandhi was able to liberate India -- is because they
didn't take for granted the way things are, but instead
tried to dream about the way things could be. And that's the job
of young people. Old people don't do that
because they're comfortable or they've become resigned,
or they become cynical, or they're just tired,
or they're comfortable, and so they don't
ask those questions. But young people, you have
to ask those questions. Now, you then have to work. And one of the things that
I always say to young people when I talk to
them anywhere, including in the
United States, one of the flaws of young people is you're oftentimes impatient. And bringing about change,
doing anything important typically takes time,
and it's hard work, and sometimes you'll fail
initially and you have to stay with it. And so you can't give up. So if you're asking
the question, how am I going to -- why not
start a business for clean energy -- well, you
have to have an idea, you have to get capital,
you have to have a business plan, you have to
create the business. It may not work right away. You may get frustrated. If you're trying to bring
about political change, there may be a lot of risks
if you're trying to bring about political change
in a place like Myanmar. Are you willing to
take those risks? Are you willing to
make sacrifices? What happens when it
doesn't work initially? Are you willing to then get
back up and start again? And that, I think, is
the most important thing. Vision is important, but
then you also have to have the persistence to keep
working to make progress. And I always tell young
people to have big dreams, but then also be willing
to work for those dreams. It's not going to
come right away. All right? Okay. (applause) Yes, young lady right here. The Press: Thank
you, Mr. President. My name is Jocelyn
and I'm from Malaysia. Last year I joined the
YSEALI program in spring, and I spent five
weeks in Washington, D.C. So we've been exposed
to a lot of different political parties and we've
been exposed to a lot of different nonprofit
organizations -- in the country. So my question for
you today is what (inaudible) the United States of America
as a developed country, and what advice would you
give to potential young leaders in this region
to avoid the pitfalls of challenges facing the U.S.? President Obama: Well,
that's a great question. Look, the United States
in many ways is better positioned than it has ever
been for leadership in the 21st century. Our economy, after the
crisis in 2007-2008, has recovered faster than
almost any other country. And our economy is stronger
than most other large, developed economies
in the world. We are producing more
energy than ever before, producing more clean
energy than ever before. More young people are going
to college than ever before. We have expanded health care
through the program that I set up --
Affordable Care Act. We have some of the best
businesses in the world, incredible entrepreneurship,
and we remain the leader in innovation and new ideas. And in the
technology sector, obviously we continue to
generate new ideas all the time. But when you go to
the United States, I think there are
still some anxieties. And I would say that, number
one, in the United States, there is a growing
inequality that I think is a real problem not just for
the United States but around the world. And some of this has to do
with technology is replacing low-skilled jobs,
and automation, and so it's
harder for people, if they don't have
good educations, to make a living. There's more global
competition -- that's putting pressure on
middle-class families. And when people feel
economic stress and inequality, then I think
politics become harder because people are afraid
for their futures and sometimes politics can
become much more divided than it used to be. Also what happens is when
there's more inequality, the people who are powerful
can influence the political system to further
reinforce their privilege, and it makes it harder for
ordinary people to feel that they have influence on
the political process. And so people
become cynical. Now, these are all problems
that can be solved, and I'm confident we will
eventually solve them. But right now, our political
system does not work as well as it should. And what I would say
to young leaders, what sort of pitfalls should
you avoid, I would say, number one, it is very
important to avoid any political system where
money overwhelms ideas. And the United States
politics process has become so expensive and
it lasts so long, and even though I
was successful at it, we spend hundreds of
millions of dollars in television advertising and
in all the things that go into a U.S. presidential campaign. But it's also true for
members of Congress. And when politicians have to
raise so much money all the time, then they start
listening a little bit more to the people
who have money, as opposed to
ordinary people. And that I think is a danger
that can be avoided by the system that you set up to
make sure that campaigns are not reliant just on money. That's something to avoid. I think the second thing is
to -- politics in the United States increasingly is
defined by personal attacks and saying very sensational
things in the media. Now, that's true for
politics everywhere to some degree. But I think that for
young leaders like you, as you get into politics,
trying to focus on issues, and trying to debate people
you disagree with without saying that they're a
terrible person -- I think that's something that you
always have to watch out for. Historically, in
the United States, the issue of race has
been very prominent. And that's not unique
to the United States; every country has some
divisions -- not every country, but many countries
have divisions around racial or religious or
ethnic differences. And the young
people of YSEALI, I really hope that all of
you are fighting against the kinds of attitudes where you
organize political parties or you organize interest
groups just around ethnic or racial or tribal lines. Because when you start doing
that it's very easy for people to start thinking
that whoever is not part of my group is somehow
less than me. And once that
mindset comes in, that's how violence happens. That's how
discrimination happens. And societies that are
divided ethnically and racially are almost never
successful over the long term. Now, the United States,
we've struggled with this for over 200 years, but it's
still an issue that comes up. And so I would guard against
that here in your home countries. But the truth is, here
in Southeast Asia, as everybody here knows,
that same kind of tendency happens. I remember when I was
growing up in Indonesia, every once in a while you
would have riots against the Chinese Indonesians, even
though they were part of the community. But somebody would start
saying, "hey, those people, that's a problem." And you'd
have stores burned down and people killed. And right now, in Myanmar,
one of the big challenges that's going to have to
be addressed is how ethnic groups are treated. The Rohingya, in
Myanmar right now, are treated differently,
even though they've been living there
for generations. But there are a
lot of people, because they're of a
different religious faith, they say those aren't real
-- they're not really part of our country. Well, once you start
going down that line, then that's a
dangerous thing. So that's part of the
biggest advice that I would give, is to watch
out for that. If you look at what's
happening in the Middle East right now, those
countries are in chaos, so many of them, because of
this notion that somehow if somebody worships God
differently than you, that they're less than you. And people are slaughtered
based on that idea. And the countries
can't grow. Businesses can't start. So of all the things
to guard against, I think that's the biggest. All right. (applause) I think I'll call on this
guy because I like his jacket. (laughter) That's a sharp-looking --
here, hold on a second. Here, we got a microphone
right behind you. The Press: Hello,
Mr. President. Thank you for
this opportunity. So my colleagues and my
friends already asked very high and low questions. President Obama: This
is a middle question. (laughter) The Press: So I will ask
a very simple personal question. So who is your most
influential person in your life, and why? And does he or she
reflect your current role? President Obama: Hmm,
that's interesting. (applause) Well, the most influential
person in my life was my mother, who -- she's
passed away now. She died young. She was a year younger than
I am now when she passed away. She died of cancer. But she was somebody who
grew up in the middle of America in a state
called Kansas. My grandparents -- her
parents -- were very ordinary middle-class,
working-class people. They came from
humble beginnings. But somehow, at
a very young age, she was very spirited
and very adventurous. She was white, and she
married a black man back in 1961, which is -- at that
time was against the law in some places in
the United States. Even though they
didn't stay together, she then moved -- remarried
an Indonesian and came here to Southeast Asia. And initially just
teaching English, but over time she became
interested in how to help women in villages
develop incomes. And so she spent most of her
life in development work. And she was a very kind
person and a very loving person, and she believed
that everybody was important. And so she would treat a
very wealthy businessman the same as she'd treat
a peasant farmer. And she tried to
respect everybody. And she taught me that
everybody has worth and everybody has a purpose. And so I think that the
values that I have today -- how I try to behave and how
I try to treat people -- is all based on those things
that she taught me when I was young. And those are the same ideas
and values that I try to teach to my daughters, even
though they never had a chance to meet her. But hopefully I've passed on
some of the same things to her. (applause) Good, okay. All right, way in
the back there. Yes, you. The Press: Salamat
datang, Mr. President. President Obama:
Salamat datang. The Press: My name is Wong and I'm from Malaysia. My question for
you today is, you have two terms
as President. As you wrap up your term,
what would you consider the best part, and what were
the parts you wish you could have carried out? Thank you. (applause) President Obama: Okay. Well, the most important
things I did as President were the actions I took
very early on to save the economy. Because when I
came into office, not only was the U.S. economy on the road
to a deep depression, but the global financial
system was very fragile and could have broken down
had we not taken some very important steps. I'm not saying that
was the most fun part, but I'm saying that was
the most important part. I think that I take the most
satisfaction from is the health care law
that I passed, because today there are
17 million people who have health insurance that
didn't have it before. And we're the only highly
developed country in the world that doesn't have a
universal health care system where everybody has access
to health insurance. And we still don't have
everybody getting health insurance, because the
program that we set up, some politicians
have blocked its full implementation
in their states, and we have a complicated
system of government. And the health care
system generally, a lot of it is in
the private sector, so it still leaves
some people out. But every day I meet
people who come up and say, "You saved my life
because, before, I didn't have
health insurance, and then I was able to
get health insurance, and I was diagnosed
with cancer. And if I hadn't
gone to a doctor, I would have never caught it
in time." So you feel good about that. And it was a hard fight. It was a big fight. And we got that done. Since I'm an old man,
as this guy says -- (laughter) -- one of the things I
find is it gives me some perspective. So the things that were
hard or I didn't like, those fade in my memories. I don't think them
about them as much. I don't have regrets. There are things I wish
we could have gotten done. For example, our system of
immigration in America is broken right now. Historically, America -- one
of the great things about America is that we're
a nation of immigrants. If you walk down the street
in Los Angeles or New York, or even in a small
town in America, you don't know exactly what
an American looks like. An American can be
African American, it can be an Irish American,
it can be a Chinese American. But we're all American. And that's because we're a
country of people who came from everywhere. And that's been
our great strength. Right now, we have a system
where too many people have come, but they didn't come
with the right papers. Oftentimes it's very hard
for young people who want to immigrate to get approvals. And so we tried to
streamline the system, but the other party so far
has been very resistant to it. I think it's the
right thing to do. I think it will
eventually get done. But we didn't do
everything that we could. But one of the things that
you learn -- this is what comes from the perspective
of age -- is that you do what you can. And you're never going to
be completely satisfied with what you accomplish. And that's why you
have young people, so that -- we leave
you something to do. (laughter) Because if I had
solved every problem, then you'd be bored and
you'd have no reason to be part of YSEALI. (applause) It's a gentleman's turn. This guy right here. Go ahead. The Press: Thank
you, Mr. President. I'm from Myanmar. I'm a doctor and an
entrepreneur myself. Being an entrepreneur you
have to wear a lot of hats at the same time. You have to do management,
you have to do financial, HR. When being the President
of one of the most powerful nations of the world, how
do you know when to stop yourself from juggling, and
when do you know that you have to seek advice? President Obama:
First of all, what kind of business
are you trying to start, or have started? Is it in the medical field? The Press: No, it's not. I call myself a
multipotentialite. President Obama: Okay! Well, that's a big word. (laughter) What does that mean? The Press: It means that I
have a lot of interests and I try to be good at
everything I'm interested in. President Obama: Okay, well
-- so you've already started a business, though? What kind of business is it? The Press: I'm trying to
create a booking website, but I'm trying to --
there's a lot of mom-and-pop accommodations
across Myanmar. But being late
in technology, a lot of them are
not tech-savvy. And I want to bring
them online and -- President Obama: Okay. So it would be a little
bit like a Myanmar Airbnb. The Press: Yeah. President Obama: I got you. Okay, that makes sense. It's a great time to start
businesses in Myanmar as things open up, because the
potential for tourism there is really wonderful. It's a beautiful country. And in some ways,
the potential, if the development is
planned to retain the beauty and the charm
of the country, it could be really powerful. So good luck. I will say, though, that
one piece of advice is, don't try to do everything
-- at least not all at once. It is true that as President
I have to do a lot of things. And one of the interesting
things about being President of the United States is that
you're not just President of the United States. If there are
problems elsewhere, people still expect
you to solve them, even though they're
not your country. And that's part of the
leadership and obligation and responsibility that we
have as a powerful nation. But I do find that
I have to focus. Because if I'm trying to
know everything and manage everything, then
nothing gets done. So a couple of
pieces of advice. One is, you have to
continually decide, what are the things
that are most important, and start with those. If you make a list, you have
to prioritize what's the thing that has to get
done; what's the thing that strategically is
most important? What's the thing that will
make the biggest difference if I do this well? And if you focus your
attention on that, then, yes, there will be some
things that don't get done, but your basic mission
will be well-served. You have to prioritize. Number two, you
have to delegate. One of the things that I'm
pretty proud of in terms of how I manage my presidency,
but also how I manage my campaigns and past work
is I'm good at surrounding myself with really
smart people. And I think the job of a
leader is not to try to do everything yourself, but
it's to try to organize people, each of whom have
different talents and skills. Make sure that they are
joined in a common vision about what needs
to get done, but then go ahead and let
them -- give them the tools so that they can do
what they need to do. It's just like a
basketball team. I play basketball, so
I usually use that. But if you prefer
soccer, that's fine. (laughter) But any sporting team. The teams that are the best
teams are the ones where each person has
a role to play, and they're all
working together. But I think sometimes there
are a lot of managers or leaders who, they don't know
how to give up control to somebody else, so they
want to just do everything. And then they get
spread too thin. And the people
they're working for, they never develop and
never feel a sense of responsibility of
ownership for the project. And as President, I can't
keep up -- I can't be an expert on everything. So my most important job is
to identify that talent who I have confidence in, and
then I put them in charge. I'll give them a
sense of direction. I will hold them
accountable. So I expect them to produce. If they have problems, I
expect them to tell me early so that we can together
solve the problem. But I want to give them
a sense of empowerment. And that's how you
duplicate yourself. That's how you spread the
amount of things you can do, is because you're
part of a team. Very few things, great
things are done by yourself. Maybe if you're a Picasso or
Mozart you can go off into a room and you can
produce great things. But most great
accomplishments, human accomplishments,
they're done as a group. And you're job
as a leader then, is to be able to assemble to
bring together people in a common vision. And then the third thing I
would say is you have to be able to be honest in
evaluating what's worked and what doesn't work,
and make adjustments. A lot of times people
go down one path, and even though they get
lost and they're at a cliff, and they can't pass but they
still want to keep going forward, and sometimes
you just have to realize, you know what, this
path didn't work, we've got to try
something different. And so you have to be honest
and constantly reevaluate and reassess what
you're doing. And be open, then, to new
information and criticism. That's part of what I
was saying earlier about democracies and freedom
of speech -- well, that applies to
any organization. If you are shutting down
people from giving you suggestions or telling you
what you're doing isn't working, is not smart -- if
you don't want to hear that, then you'll just keep on
making mistakes because you're not open to
new information. (applause) All right, let's see. Young lady, right there. Yeah. Here we go. We got a microphone? Can we get a microphone
to the young lady? Here we go,
right behind you. The Press: Thank you. My name is Uma. I'm from Indonesia. I'm working in Center for
Handicraft and Batik in Yogyakarta. President Obama: That's
a nice batik you have on. The Press: I'm wearing
the skirt batik, yes. President Obama:
Yes, it's very nice. The Press: Thank you. So my office always
supporting to small industries. You know that handicraft and
batik are produced by home and small industries. And now we encourage the
people to use the natural dyes to color in the
batik and handicraft. And also, the reason is
because we have a lot of natural resources, and also
there is the global market demand on friendly products. In on the other side,
unfortunately the developed countries like Europe
or, I don't know, maybe also U.S.,
United States, still export the unfriendly,
sensitive dyes to developing countries. So my question, simple
question: What do you think about this situation? President Obama: Well,
it's interesting. I don't know enough about
sort of batik production. I mean, my mother did, but
I don't -- to know sort of the difference in the prices
of dyes and what works and what doesn't. Here's what I
would say, though, is you're absolutely right
that in the United States, at least, people --
consumers are more and more interested in
environmentally friendly and organic products. And so if you are producing
things that are using natural dyes, then that's
something that you can market and it's a selling
point for a lot of consumers. Now, the fact that countries
are still selling artificial dyes into Indonesia
or other places, that's the way
businesses work. Now, as long as they're not
poisonous and they're not hurting people, that's not
something probably that you're going to stop. But what you can do is to
start marketing the fact that you use natural
dyes, and that may be very appealing to people. This brings up a
larger question, which is the issue of trade. We just completed this
Trans-Pacific Partnership, which brings together
12 countries in the Asia Pacific region, including
a number of ASEAN countries like Malaysia and Vietnam. And trade is something that
can be good and can be bad. It is good in the sense that
it allows each country to pursue the things
that it's best at, produce goods that they
can do better than others, and everybody
can get richer. It also can create real
problems because it brings about competition, it can
change the way things are done in each country. And if somebody from another
country has a much more efficient, effective
way of making a product, then the local producers can
lose a lot of business and people can be displaced
from their jobs. And we've seen this
in a lot of countries. So part of, I think, the
goal of every country is not to close off from trade,
but if competition comes in, then the government has to
help that country adjust to this new competition and to
find new ways of creating jobs and creating wealth. And Singapore is a good
example of a country that's done this very well. I mean if you think
about Singapore, Singapore is a tiny
little country. It doesn't have any oil. It doesn't have any
significant natural resources. But it has been very good
about investing in its people, in providing
them education. The government runs
itself very efficiently, and it is good in planning
and thinking about, okay, if we're manufacturing
this and now there's new competition and we're
no longer the low-cost producer, what's the new
thing we should be good at. And they help and
retrain people, and help companies
transition into a new way of doing business. And the truth is teconomy,
countries are constantly having to change. They constantly have to
transform themselves. And people constantly
have to change. Because the economy is just
too dynamic and moves too fast because of
the Internet, because of transportation. You can't cut yourself off
-- unless you're North Korea -- you can't cut yourself
off from the world. And those countries that
try typically fall behind, because they can't keep
up with the ever-changing economic environment. So this is where good
government policy is important, and helping
people retrain and helping industries adapt, that's one
of the most important roles of government in
today's economy. (applause) Okay, I've only got time for
two more quick questions. The Press: Give me
one, Barack Obama. (laughter) President Obama: I
don't know about that. (laughter) The Press: I wanted one (inaudible) but you took the
Thailand one. (laughter) President Obama: Wow! You've been
waiting for a year? Well, okay, well, you've
already taken the floor, so go ahead. (laughter) This better be a really
good question, though, since he just went ahead
and announced that he's been waiting for a year
to ask this question. (laughter) One whole year. Okay, you have a lot of
pressure on you right now. Let's see how good
a question it is. No, you only get one. (laughter) Go ahead. The Press: Okay,
just two questions. (laughter) Just one, okay. Okay, just one. This is about
American principles. And I believe you at the
end of the TPPA agreement. And to me, from where
I'm coming from, the CSOs in Malaysia, we
believe that the TPP is a very elitist deal. President Obama:
What is your name? The Press: Oh, sorry. My name is Cesan. I'm from Malaysia and I'm
half-Filipino -- my dad is a Filipino. President Obama: So you're
not actually Filipino, you're Malaysian -- (laughter) -- who presented
yourself as a Filipino, and then insisted on
asking this question. Man -- all right. The Press: But I'm ASEAN. (laughter and applause) President Obama: Just go
ahead and ask your question. Go ahead. The Press: So we believe
that the TPPA is an elitist deal. The people has been
excluded from it, even from the start. Only five out of 30 clauses
are not clauses -- in the deal is regarding trade. I want to take you to
the context of Malaysia. In Malaysia, you have
indigenous people. You have 70 percent out
of the poor are women. You have so much more people
who are lagging behind. So let me just
check back my notes. (laughter) President Obama:
Well, come on, man, this can't be too long
of a question, though, because I want to get
one more question in. So hurry up. The Press: We can expect
that rising prices and major changes in these
SMEs, startups. How does this bill you
say that which includes everything, how does it
tally with your principles of human rights,
transparency, and equality that the U.S. stands for? (applause) President Obama: So, first
of all, what is true is, is that whenever you're
negotiating a trade deal -- and this is true for any
trade agreement -- if you're negotiating with 12
countries and if there's not some space for the
negotiators to basically agree on the deal, but the
whole time everybody is commenting on
every aspect of it, then it would
never get done. In the United States, if
basically every chapter was subject to various interest
groups asking, well, we want more of this,
or we want more of that, and the business community
saying, we want this, and the labor union saying,
we want that -- just in the United States, we could
never get it done. And then when you try to
get 12 countries together, and everybody was in
on every aspect of the negotiation, it would never
be finished because people would always ask for more. And I'm not just -- I mean,
the pharmaceutical companies would want more. The agriculture sector
would want more. Everybody would
want something, because the nature of the
trade agreement is that there are so many
interests involved. So what we've done instead
is you close the initial deal -- right? Now it's subject to review
-- it's up on a website. You can go and
read every chapter. And people can -- each
country then has to ratify it and it's subject to the
approval of the legislatures or the parliaments or
whatever form of government in approving or
disapproving it. I still got to get it
passed in Congress. And members of Congress are
going to read every line and there are going to be some
people who think it's a good deal and some people who
think it's a bad deal. And I believe that it's a
good deal and we'll get it done. But there's no guarantee. So the point is that it's
inaccurate to think that transparency means that you
and everybody else are all in a room together
negotiating the entire time in open environment because
it would never get completed -- partly because each
country has to give up something in order to
get a trade deal done. For example, we have to open
up some markets to goods that previously were
subject to tariffs. And somebody in our country
is not going to like that. But our view is,
overall, that's good. That may be helpful to
Malaysia, and in turn, we will be able to sell
something to Malaysia and somebody in Malaysia
won't like that. So that's the nature of
negotiations in a trade deal. Now, with respect to some of
the specific things that you said, I actually
think it's inaccurate. So let's take the example of
pharmaceuticals -- I'm just going to give
you an example. This is an area where people
actually have expressed concerns because -- the U.S. pharmaceutical industry is the most prominent in the world. We do a lot of the research
and development that invent many of the new drugs. And what is absolutely true
is that a lot of the drugs companies, once
they invent a drug, they want to keep making
money as long as possible on that drug. And sometimes they want to
keep making money on that drug, even though they
invented it a long time ago. They want to preserve their
rights -- exclusive rights to make it. And they keep selling it at
a higher and higher price, and they don't want generic
substitutes that are lower cost. So what we did in this deal
was we said that we should provide some protections
for some drugs, because if you don't provide
some intellectual property protection, then nobody is
going to invent a new drug. Because the minute they
did, then there would be a generic that was
produced right away, and there would be no point
in inventing it because you wouldn't make any money. The same way that if you
make -- if you are a singer and you make a record, but
the minute you record the record, people can just
download it without paying, at a certain point that's
going to hurt the music industry. So we said we have
to protect some. But we're very explicit in
the chapter on this to say that we have to protect
generics for low-income persons, for -- in fact, we
need to eliminate tariffs on some things like penicillin
and basic drugs that have been on the market
for a very long time. And over time, we actually
believe that the cost of drugs are going to go down
in many countries that currently have a lot of
barriers in terms of those drugs. And here's proof that this
wasn't just some giveaway to the drug companies. Right now, a lot of the
drug companies in the United States are mad at me
because they said, how come we didn't
get more protection? And what I said
to them is, well, part of our job is
to promote the U.S. drug industry, but part of
our job is also to be good partners with countries that
have people who are sick. And we've got to make sure
that they also are able to get access to drugs. So the point is -- the
point I'm making, though, generally is that in this
new global environment, it's what I said earlier --
things are changing all the time. And part of my principles
and my values is that we have to make sure that the
change is good for ordinary people, that it's
good for the farmer, good for the young student;
it's good for women, it's good for
developing countries. But I do not believe
that we can stop change. I do not believe
that, for example, if we just put up a bunch
of barriers to trade, that that's going to
help countries grow. I don't think that if we
try to stop technology that somehow we're going
to be better off. I think we have
to embrace change, but then we have to figure
out how do we make sure that everybody benefits from
change and not just a few. I believe in
market economies. I think it's been proven
that market economies are the best generators of
wealth in the world. But I think that market
economies also have to have some government
interventions to make sure that it's fair and
there's fair competition, and that small businesses
are not excluded by monopolies, and that workers
have some basic protections. So that's the kind of
balance that is reflected in TPP. And that's reflective
of, I think, my policies both in
the United States and internationally. Okay, I'm going to
take one last question. Now, let's see --
hold on a second. Wait, wait, wait. I want to make sure -- we've
heard from the Philippines, from Myanmar, Cambodia. We haven't heard
from Thailand. Thailand, all right. We got to get a
Thailand question. (applause) The Press: Thank
you so much. Dara from Thailand. I'm bisexual. I have a question. Should anyone being
LGBT have to go to jail? Should anyone being
different have to go to the jail? I didn't know
for your opinion. How could we have regional
or international cooperation if some countries are still
having the kind of programs? Thank you. President Obama: Okay,
that's a great question. (applause) Look, the answer to the
first question is simple: No. People who have a different
sexual orientation are deserving of respect and
dignity like everybody else, and they shouldn't
go to jail for it. (applause) And I know that in
ASEAN countries, as well as in the
United States, people have different
religious traditions, they have different
cultural traditions. And that's fine. What I always say to people
is that nobody is forcing you to behave in
a certain way. And nobody is saying
that -- for example, we just had this debate
about whether same-sex couples could get married. And part of the
point, I think, we made in this debate was,
if a church or a mosque or a temple does not recognize
those marriages, they shouldn't be forced
to have to marry somebody that's contrary to
their religious beliefs. But marriage as a civil
institution by the state should be available to
everybody, not just some. And so the point is that
government policy should treat everybody
equally under the law. That doesn't mean that we
all agree on everything. That doesn't mean that
people cannot have their own beliefs. But it does mean that
in our public spaces, in how we interact
as a society, that we have to respect
people's differences. And as long as
their relationships, who they love, is not having
any kind of negative impact on you, you should
respect that. (applause) And this goes back to the
thing I mentioned earlier when you asked me about what
can we learn from the United States. I so strongly believe that
the future of humanity depends on us all treating
people with respect and dignity -- (applause) -- and recognizing that
whatever your religious background, whatever
your ethnicity, whether you're a
man or a woman, whatever your
sexual orientation, you have something in common
with me -- that we are both children of God; that we
both were put here for a reason and are deserving
of kindness and respect. And I think that
as young leaders, if you can promote those
ideas in your countries, in your businesses, in your
nonprofit organizations -- if you're always thinking in
terms of how do we make sure that everybody is treated
fairly and everybody is deserving of respect, then
there's no problem we can't solve. And as soon as we lose that
sight, lose that vision, and we start treating people
differently because they're different than us, and we
try to make ourselves more important by putting
other people down, that's when bad things
happen in every society. That's a universal truth. And we can celebrate
our differences. Just like people are wearing
different clothes and people have different foods, people
can have different beliefs and different ideas. But the one thing that I
believe is universal is that you have to treat people
with respect and dignity, no matter who they are. And if you do that, YSEALI,
then I'm confident you'll be successful. (applause) Thank you, everybody. It was fun to be with you. Thank you.
