Anwar warns decline in reading and shallow thinking threaten civilisation

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the threat to civilisation does not stem from a loss of access to knowledge — of which there is now a glut — but from society’s waning love and patience for reading, reflecting, and thinking critically and deeply. — Bernama pic

First Published: Thursday, 29 Oct 2026 10:02 AM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — The decline of reading culture and the rise of shallow thinking in the digital age are pressing challenges that could threaten the future of civilisation, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

In a Facebook post yesterday, the prime minister shared his thoughts after taking time to read the latest work by James Marriott, titled The New Dark Ages: The End of Reading and the Dawn of a Post-Literate Society.

He said the threat to civilisation does not stem from a loss of access to knowledge — of which there is now a glut — but from society’s waning love and patience for reading, reflecting, and thinking critically and deeply.

“We may be increasingly wealthy in information, yet impoverished in wisdom. The question, therefore, is not merely whether humanity still reads, but whether humanity still wants to think,” he said.

Reflecting on history, Anwar recalled society’s deep reverence for intellectual and literary traditions upon the death of great French writer Victor Hugo in 1885, which saw around two million people gather in Paris to pay their last respects.

He said a similar scene unfolded following the death of renowned Russian literary giant Fyodor Dostoevsky in 1881, when tens of thousands joined his funeral procession in Saint Petersburg, demonstrating how deeply society at the time valued literature, culture, intellectual traditions, and thought.

“Neither of them was a king nor a victorious warlord, but they were thinkers and scholars whose ideas resonated deeply in the hearts and minds of society,” he added. — Bernama