1.Just this week, many things have been happening. For one, my good friend, K (
her nickname) is currently organizing "The ASEANpreneurs Youth Leaders Exchange" where youth leaders from the ASEAN region are joining this event, exchanging ideas and thoughts and bringing in many popular figures to come in and give talks.
2.And a few weeks before that, another good friend of mine, Michael Teoh was named the winner of the global Smaller Earth Your Big Year competition.
3.And another friend, Alexander of Nottingham University in Semenyih emailed me about how a group of youths going to hold workshops for rural high school students on tertiary education opportunities in Sarawak to address the particular problem, West Malaysians generally remain unaware of the plight of East Malaysians. Most have never been to East Malaysia and have never witnessed first-hand the situation for themselves. The general impression of East Malaysia as the backwater of the nation is a prevalent stereotype that holds too many ounces of truth in it. As a result, many Sarawakians view West Malaysians with general suspicion and an underlying resentment. As the Federal government continues to concentrate it's distribution of economic wealth in the Peninsular, accessability to quality education resources in Sarawak remains a stagnant ambition for the majority of the state's youth.
4. I'm just saying guys that our country is not short of young, enthusiastic leaders. Not one bit.In fact, we are very competitive in terms of this particular aspect. Once, I did attend this one event called as, Youth'08 and Youth'09. Yes guys, I attended both years. :)
5. What I found there was really making me delighted to see our young people are very enthusiastic in moving the country forward, regardless of who you are. In fact, the new generation (I regard this group as below 30) as more concerned about being Malaysian first, and malay-chinese-indian-kadazan-iban-bidayuh-bajau-etc etc...(sorry guys,too long to mention. :P) second.
6. And the best part is that these guys are not only enthusiastic, but very sincere in what they are doing, in the sense that it's not always about the money.It's more of achieving their goals and pursuing their interests.
7. So, that's why I must stress that if the government wants to remain relevant, they have to start paying very serious attention on what these youths are doing, guide them to be on the right platforms and give more emphasis towards identifying talented youths across the country. You'll be surprised at what they can do.
8. Only thing is, I do have to mention here that these youths are a little bit rebellious, in
a way, so we have to adjust how we intend to form this so-called
collaboration. *wink*
9. I think there are a few things I hope (my personal opinion, without the backing of the general views), these are some of the things that we should focus more:
a) give appropriate recognitions to the youths, not only to those who have been outstanding but also to those who have contributed their energy and time for the country.
b) the political arena of the country should move with time. Our young people are literally
sick with the backstabbings and dirty news written on paper and reported in the news channel, so to remain relevant is also to engage the people in a clean and appropriate manner.
c) be more responsive and pay more attention what the youths are proposing. For example in the case of my friend K I told you earlier, it's clearly a very good event in terms of developing the youths, relevant government agencies should take this opportunity to engage the youths more effectively. Private sectors should also not do it for CSR (corporate social responsibilities) to demand for (in certain cases) tax-exemption, but to consider contributing in these sorts of initiatives as a form of
national service.
d) guide the youths. you know, Mr. Government, most of the time, these young people, including myself aren't clear whom to approach, what organization to work with. So, spend some time in making your agencies more accessible and make it known to them what are your roles and responsibilities.
e) elected-representatives of the people, YB's, MP's, Dato, Datin of the governments, make yourselves more approachable and don't be too much of the Kings where it is so hard for the people to meet you. too much protocols can too, make yourself irrelevant. Take the example of Dato Saifudin Abdullah, the deputy minister of Higher Education. That's a good example indeed. After officiating events, for example, don't leave right away for the VIP room and hang out with the rest of the so-called important people, but maybe sit and have a short informal chit chat with the youths. we know you're busy, but isn't serving the people, hearing the words from the people themselves is part of your duties as well?
and
f) include youths in the decision making. I know this sound a little bit immature, but whatever policies you guys are making, make sure the people that are going to be affected are part of the decision making as well. Make sense isn't it?
10. It's time that these youths are given the attention- an appropriate one. Although they may be lacking in terms of experience,
maturity maybe for being too naive in certain issues/ cases, but actually they are the future leaders of tomorrow. If the
parents don't provide the guidance to them, then who will? In this case, the parents are the government. Just as being a good parent is to listen well to your child's needs, so should the government.
11. Just my two cents, but I have no doubt that investing our time in understanding the role of youths in Malaysia could make a whole lot different. Apart from the three I just mentioned earlier, many more are creating impacts of their owns. Only thing is, not enough credits, recognitions and attention are given to them. Who's fault?
Clive
