MH370, MH17 incidents justify Malaysians to have global mindset - PM

He said when the country was befallen by the two tragedies, it provided a lesson that the world was now in a hyper connected, multi-directional and interdependent situation.

"This means that whether it is an administrative personnel, government officer or student of higher institution, they need to develop a system and culture that can foster a global mindset to succeed.

"We can only succeed if we have a global mindset. All these, agencies and bodies that we see such as Tabung Haji must have a global mind set and also Felda. We must have all these to uplift our dignity to a higher level," he said when speaking at the Prime Minister's Department monthly assembly at Perdana Square here.

Najib stressed that possessing a global mindset did not meant one did not uphold the foundation to one's self identity.

"We as Malays, of course, has Islam as our religion and culture, that is our core but our mindset must be capable of acting in a more global setting," he said.

Najib said who could have imagine that a conflict in one corner of the world that did not have any connection with Malaysia at all could bring about an impact to the country.

"We are all connected, it cannot be avoided...if the prices of rubber fall because the economy in China has slowed down due to its economy, then the effect is that our rubber prices fall.

"If we want to help the victims of MH17, I myself cannot imagine when normally I negotiate with heads of government, I have never negotiate with the head of a rebel group in my history but I am compelled to do it for the country's interests," he said.

Touching on the announcement by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin that it was compulsory to pass the English language as a subject at the tertiary level, Najib said it was a step towards preparing Malaysians to be more competitive and viable.