PUTRAJAYA, Sept 8 — The Asean Secretariat has asked for the Malaysia Youth Index to be a reference for the proposed Asean Youth Index, according to Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

He said once developed, the Asean Youth Index would enable Malaysia to make a more accurate comparison with other Asean member countries in terms of youth wellbeing.

“So, once Asean Youth Index is developed and if the indicators and domains are similar to Malaysia, then we (Malaysia) will be able to make more accurate comparison with other Asean member countries,” he told reporters after launching the 2015 Malaysia Youth Index at his ministry here today.

At present, the overall score for the Malaysia Youth Index is 70.22.

Commenting on the score, Khairy said while a score of 70 was considered “not bad”, there were room for improvement.

“Obviously, there is a serious concern among Malaysian youth in terms of economy and political participation. Political participation has the lowest score at 46.

 “Probably this is partly due to empathy and the process is detached too far from them (youth). Malaysian youth is too far to be in political process. So, I think political education is very important to expose them to such process,” he added.

Meanwhile, Khairy said a comparison could not be done between Malaysia and other countries as their Youth Index had different domains and indicators.

“Not all countries have Youth Development Index. Among Asean member countries, only Malaysia has a comprehensive index. The Philippines has a type of index, but not as comprehensive as Malaysian index,” he added. — Bernama