IF Malaysia's first six decades were about building a nation, its next chapter should be about preparing a generation capable of keeping it relevant.
At 63, Malaysia is no longer preoccupied solely with questions of sovereignty, borders and economic survival. Today's young people are growing up in a world where the lines between the physical and digital are increasingly blurred, social media shapes political discourse and artificial intelligence is beginning to redefine work itself.
For Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, that future should excite young Malaysians. But it should also worry them.
"The world is revolving. Whatever work that you can do can be taken over by machines," said the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform), warning that technology is changing the nature of work at a pace many may not fully appreciate.
Her warning is directed at a generation that has grown up with technology as part of everyday life.
Young Malaysians have unprecedented access to information, connectivity and opportunities to make their voices heard.
Yet Azalina questioned whether they are sufficiently prepared for a future in which skills become obsolete faster than expected and career paths evolve constantly.
For her, the real issue is relevance.
"Where do you stand in the premise of relevancy?" she asked.
It is an uncomfortable question for a generation accustomed to instant information and convenience.
Azalina acknowledged that younger Malaysians have different priorities, including growing interest in work-life balance and greater control over how they live and work.
However, she cautioned that the world will continue changing regardless of whether people are ready for it.
She recalled a conversation with her daughter, who had recently entered the workforce.
"The second week (of work), I'm already tired. What do I do?" she remembered her saying.
For Azalina, the issue is not whether young people should seek balance. It is whether they understand the realities of the world they are entering.
"You should be worried," she said.
The warning extends beyond finding employment. It is about remaining useful, adaptable and capable of contributing when technology changes the rules.
As work evolves, so too does the relationship between citizens and political leaders.
For generations, political communication relied on party machinery, speeches, newspapers, television and face-to-face campaigning. Today, politics fits inside a smartphone.
A young Malaysian can receive a political message, challenge it, create a response and distribute it to thousands of people within minutes.
Political parties, Azalina said, can no longer communicate with today's generation using yesterday's methods.
"We're going digital." But digital transformation is not simply about transferring speeches onto social media platforms.
It requires understanding a generation that no longer waits for institutions to tell it what to think. Social media has fundamentally changed who gets to speak, who gets heard and how quickly public opinion can shift.
That reality, places greater responsibility on political leaders. For Azalina, who is the Umno Information Chief, she said politics cannot be reduced to a pursuit of power.
"Malaysian politics cannot just be about power. It's about what you want to contribute to the people. It's about carrying out your duties to the people."
The distinction is central to her vision for the country's future.
Malaysia does not merely need young people seeking positions of authority. It needs young people willing to participate, adapt, question, contribute and take responsibility for the society they will inherit.
Because the future of a nation cannot be secured by governments alone.
It depends on citizens who choose to show up and play their part.
That also means recognising that leadership itself must evolve.
Reflecting on the younger generation, Azalina stressed that the country must give them space to develop their own ideas, even if mistakes are made along the way.
"You must have that courage to allow and take that risk. You will grow old, we will not stay young forever. It is important to have the next generation continue building our nation."
Nation-building, she said, is never a one-generation project. Every generation eventually has to make way for the next.
As Malaysia looks ahead, Azalina believes young people must think beyond what technology can offer them and ask where they fit in a rapidly changing world.
"You must understand that the world is revolving."
For Malaysia, progress cannot be measured solely by technological advancement. It must also be measured by whether its people are prepared for that progress.
A digitally connected generation, she said, must also be a responsible one.