KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — Youth leaders have given the thumbs up to Youth and Sports Minister (KBS) Khairy Jamaluddin’s initiative to implement a two-step approach in gathering views of young minds ahead of the 2050 National Transformation (TN50) vision.
NextGen Impact co-founder Calvin Woo said such a move would be an aspiration for youth groups and local think-tanks to voice out their opinion to achieve TN50.
If given an opportunity to give his view, the recipient of the Queen’s Young Leaders, said it would be to call for a better education system in the country.
“Inclusive and effective education and economic development [is important],” the 21-year-old told Malay Mail Online when contacted today.
“I do hope that there will be an increase in opportunities for collaborations between KBS, youth-led organisations including social enterprises and organisations, cross-ministerial collaborations to advance the agendas in National Education Blueprint and Eleventh Malaysian Plan,” he added.
Woo added that creating a support system through funding opportunities and resource sharing among different stakeholders would also be essential in empowering young people to become leaders of tomorrow.
On Saturday, national news agency Bernama reported Khairy as saying his ministry will implement two phases to prepare early input for the TN50.
The first phase, according to Khairy, would involve a consultation process to obtain views of youths and the second phase would be on gathering views of adults before tabling them to the prime minister.
Dr Mohd Lutfi Fadil Lokman, the only Malaysian on the United Nation Youth Leaders for Sustainable Development Goal 2016, said he would want to see a strong representation of the diverse races and religion when the first phase of the KBS initiative kicks in.
“Personally I am quite excited about this initiative, because as a young doctor, I think the health of the nation will be critical for any kind of transformation, and I will be more than happy to share my opinions about the future of healthcare that the youths wants,” the 29-year-old told Malay Mail Online when contacted.
Dr Mohd Lutfi, who is also the chief executive of Hospitals Beyond Boundaries (HBB), was acknowledged by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak during the Budget 2017 announcement on Friday.
In his speech, Najib said Dr Lutfi was an exemplary youth and an icon in the field of health.
Also welcoming this move was Change led by the Young Generation (Challenger) acting president Abdul Naem Suhaime.
Among others, Abdul Naem recommended for the Ministry of Higher Education to merged with the Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation.
Without elaborating much on this, he said, this was practised in developed nations, adding that research and development and higher education should fall under the same purview.
“Both of these belong together and they cannot be working in silos. It is a practise in developed nations,” he said when contacted.
To avoid rampant corruption among civil servants, Abdul Naem recommended those holding positions in public offices to declare their assets to the public or to the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission.
When tabling the the 2017 Budget, Najib announced that the government would launch a national discourse series on TN50.
He said TN50 would span over three decades to form a calibre nation state.
TN50, which will be under his patronage, will be kick-started by the young diverse generation of all races through national discourse as decided by the Cabinet and conducted by KBS.
