MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Member of Parliament for Manchester North Western Mikael Phillips says the skills and linguistic intelligence of lottery scammers, if put to better use, would improve the country.

“…We start to glorify scamming, but if you are really to think about it, what is it that individuals have to do to scam someone? Some of these scammers speaking all five languages left school without even one subject but now they are brighter than me and you,” Phillips said at a police youth club award ceremony in Mandeville last Sunday.

“Because if they can call someone to convince them that there is a prize waiting on them somewhere, getting that money, just imagine if they had put that skill to something more positive, more productive, how better a place we would have… Even the Benz and the BMW that they are driving, some of them never ride bicycle before them start scam,” he added.

Fourteen members of the police youth club were recognised at the awards ceremony held at the Tropics View Hotel.

Phillips told his audience, consisting of young people and police officers, that the instillment of morals is vital.

“We even glorifying ‘dunceness’ now; and we keep blaming the system and not blaming ourselves in some instances because it starts at home, it starts with us… Because you can ask yourself why you never start scam too —, it is because you want better and you know better,” he said.

He is encouraging young people to contribute to nation building.

“Let us leave Jamaica better than how we found it — that is all that we owe to Jamaica ourselves. Some of us leave and go overseas and we work three, four jobs, but if you ask them to work as hard here to make the [country] better them tell you seh you a oppress them — but [yet] them willing to go work for His Majesty over in the UK a push snow than to push a fork and plant two peas and turn it over for himself,” said Phillips.

He commended the Manchester Police Youth Club’s involvement in communities.

“… To see that the police youth clubs are still a part of our landscape brings me joy — and especially here in Manchester. A [few] years ago we were called the happiest parish in Jamaica, but when we see what is happening in the parish and what is happening nationally we have to be concerned and we have to take pause,” he said in reference to the rise in crime.