Resolutions From Youth Parliament To Be Brought To Parliament - Speaker

BANGI, Nov 5 (Bernama) -- Any decisions and resolutions passed by the Malaysian Youth Parliament will not be left idle but will instead be brought to the actual Parliament through a select committee, said Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul.

He said the move was important to ensure that the views and ideas raised by Youth Parliament representatives could be translated into policy proposals and genuine discussions in the Dewan Rakyat.

“Any decisions they make will be brought to the real Parliament through the select committee. This means their ideas will not be forgotten,” he said today.

Johari spoke to reporters after attending the Malaysian Youth Parliament Town Hall Programme, which gathered about 250 student leaders from public and private universities as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) here.

He said the programme, which introduces a new format for the Youth Parliament following its placement under the Malaysian Parliament, serves as an incubator to train young leaders aged between 18 and 30 to understand the objectives of leadership and their responsibilities to society.

Among the new elements introduced are collaborative training through the formation of seven simulated political parties and exposure to the proportional representation electoral system, replacing the previous individual-based approach, he added.

Johari said early exposure to the political system and leadership values was vital to ensure that young people are guided along the right path towards becoming capable future leaders.

“If we do not do this, I believe we will not achieve our aspiration of becoming a great nation in the future. Other countries have already done it, but we are somewhat behind,” he said.

He also expressed hope that the programme would enhance young people’s understanding of the country’s democratic process, noting that the original objectives of the Youth Parliament when it was established in 2014 were rather limited.

“…with government funding, we hope that those who now participate in the Youth Parliament will gain new knowledge, as their understanding of the democratic process was previously quite minimal. So now we are upgrading it to provide greater exposure,” he said.

-- BERNAMA