He said the discussion and planning for TN50 were the basis for the government to plan the process and operation for the next three decades to map out the direction of the nation on a new canvas.

“The TN50 or National Transformation 2050 is ours.

“The national discourse which began yesterday, and which will be held throughout the year, is the platform for you to share with the government your aspirations for Malaysia,” Najib said in a posting on his official Facebook page last night.

Najib said he held firmly to the words “A politician thinks of the next election, a statesman thinks of the next generation”.

He said the National Transformation Policy introduced in 2010 had placed the country on the right track to achieve Vision 2020, which is only three years away.

“However, we have to look further ahead, we should not be complacent and focus so much on the achievements during these three years to the extent that it stops us from planning and preparing for a new journey for Malaysia post 2020,” he said.

Najib also gave his assurance that the voices of the youths would be heard as they would shape the country’s journey into the future.

“I am happy because I was with the youths yesterday in Universiti Malaya and heard for myself their aspirations.

“Our government today is a government which is willing to listen and uses the bottom-up approach. God willing, the ideas which were put forward will be studied and taken into consideration,” Najib said.