PUTRAJAYA

news@nst.com.my

ALI starts his day early, leaving for work in Kuala Lumpur located about 250km from his house in Kuantan, Pahang. He will get into the earliest “hyperloop” high-speed train since it is the most convenient public transportation, which will only take about one hour to reach Kuala Lumpur from Kuantan.

After arriving at the train station in Kuala Lumpur, Ali later hops into an ‘air taxi’ to get to his office located within the technology-laden “Digital Free Trade Zone”.

In between completing his daily working routine, Ali would monitor his children at school using his telecommunication device.

He smiles upon seeing his children enjoying class, which utilises artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

After clocking out from work in the afternoon, Ali would join his friend at the restaurant and enjoy a football match using Virtual Reality gadgets, which enables them to experience watching the game as if they were at the Old Trafford Stadium in England.

Ali, then, returns home and spends the rest of day with his family at their abode surrounded by pristine greenery.

This was the vision of some two million youths shared by Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin when he summarised more than 60,000 aspirations gathered, detailed, compiled and documented into the National Transformation 2050 (TN50) Youth Canvas.

“This is the scenario that I visualise will take place in the future if someone asked me about TN50,” said Khairy during a special inter view on the TN50 Youth Canvas.

The canvas was presented to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak during a special event at Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition (MITEC) centre in Kuala Lumpur on Feb 28.

The aspirations were categorised into six major themes including “global”, in which, the youths envisioned a country of innovative and entrepreneurial global citizens, “equitable” (a land where no one is left behind) and “sustainable” (a nation that safeguards its natural resources).

“The remaining three themes are “united”, “accountable” and “compassionate”.

“All of these six major themes, which emerged from the aspirations of the younger generation, are important in TN50 since these are the foundations of the nation that we want to build in the future,” said Khairy, adding that Malaysia’s population is projected to reach 41 million people from the present 32 million.

Among the highlights of the canvas, which is divided into seven chapters, included the proposal for the government to set “moonshots” objectives and introduce a Pioneer Industry Development Programme to propel the nation’s economy.

Khairy said the idea for Malaysia to have its own “moonshot” industry was inspired by former United States president John F. Kennedy’s plan to send and put an American citizen to the moon in 1990s, which gave birth to the development of new industries including the information and communication technology (ICT) apart from opening the frontier to the aeronautic innovation industry.

“This is a concept that we wanted to introduce, which will enable the country to create new industries from the national objectives.

“During the ceremony to present the canvas recently, a TN50 ambassador gave an idea on how the government could have a two-pronged approach in conserving our sea and simultaneously develop our marine industry by modernising our fishering sector.

“There were many more ideas on the moonshot industry that were proposed by the younger generation,” said Khairy.

Other salient points raised by the youths in the TN50 Youth Canvas included the proposal for the government to create more opportunities for young entrepreneurs using the “Gig Economy” concept, which is a market environment characterised by the prevalence of short-term engagements or freelance work.

The concept, said Khair y, is about to