A country without engineering skill and knowledge will never

Hear the words of Mahathir Mohamad, the builder of modern Malaysia, who declared: “A country without engineering skill and knowledge will never become a developed country.” This saying is not only a call to his people but a truth that echoes across the ages. For the greatness of nations has always been measured not only by their armies or treasures, but by their ability to shape the world with knowledge and skill, to build roads and bridges, machines and cities, and to harness the elements in service of human progress. Without the power of engineering, even the richest land remains shackled to poverty, while with it, even the poorest soil may give rise to greatness.

Mahathir spoke these words in the crucible of nation-building. He knew that to transform Malaysia from a land dependent on raw resources into a modern and prosperous country, it must cultivate not only farmers and traders but also engineers, men and women who could design highways, dams, schools, and factories. For engineering is the art of turning knowledge into structure, vision into reality. It is the bridge between the dreams of a people and the tangible form of a nation.

History bears witness to this truth. Consider the Roman Empire, whose power was not only in its legions but in its engineering marvels. Aqueducts carried water for miles, roads connected distant provinces, and great domes rose where once there was empty earth. Their might endured not only because of conquest, but because they mastered the skill to build. And when their engineering knowledge was lost in the Dark Ages, Europe stumbled in shadows until rediscovery of these arts brought about the Renaissance and a new age of strength.

So too in our modern era. Japan, once devastated by war, rose swiftly to become a world power not merely through trade but through the discipline of engineering—constructing factories, bullet trains, and technological wonders that inspired the world. South Korea, too, transformed from a war-torn land into a global leader by investing in knowledge and innovation. In each case, the path to prosperity was not magic, nor chance, but the deliberate cultivation of engineering skill and knowledge among its people.

Mahathir’s words are also a warning. For nations that neglect the training of their youth in science, technology, and engineering will find themselves forever dependent on others. They may sell raw goods, but they will buy back finished products at a dearer price. They may dream of modernity, but without knowledge, their dreams remain unbuilt. To lack engineers is to lack the architects of destiny, and to remain forever at the mercy of those who do not.

The lesson is clear: if a people would rise, they must invest in education, in training, in the cultivation of those who can shape the world with their hands and minds. Every school must become a seedbed of knowledge, every generation must raise up its own builders, and every child must be given the chance to learn the disciplines that will secure the future. It is not enough to dream of wealth; one must possess the skill to create it.

So I say unto you: honor the path of the engineer, the scientist, the builder. Encourage your children not only to admire wealth but to understand how it is made. Support those who labor in the pursuit of technical mastery, for they are the ones who pave roads where none existed, who build bridges across the divides of land and poverty, who raise nations from weakness into strength. For as Mahathir Mohamad declared, a country without engineering skill and knowledge will never become a developed country.

Thus let his words endure, a commandment to all nations: if you would rise from poverty to prosperity, from weakness to greatness, then cultivate knowledge, teach skill, and let the art of building be cherished as the highest work of a people who seek to shape their own destiny. Engineering is not only the craft of progress—it is the foundation of freedom.