Rural-urban youth migration can be curbed – Syed Saddiq

KUALA LUMPUR: Programmes implemented for youths should have the cooperation of all ministries as it will then reduce the number of rural youth from migrating to urban areas.

Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said that it was important to have the backing of all ministries when programmes for rural youth were implemented as they will be inspired to stay on instead of moving to towns and cities.

He was responding to a question by Mohd Shahar Abdullah (BN-Paya Besar) on the government’s efforts to address the issue of youth migration from rural to urban areas.

Syed Saddiq reiterated that the development agenda in rural areas implemented between ministries would help reduce youth migration to the city.

He said some of the previous programmes which were good would be continued and further improved such as the Youth Entrepreneurs Outreach programme, especially for rural youth, which produced more than 860 rural youth entrepreneurs.

It was also imperative that good governance be implemented for each programme so that there was no abuse of power, added Syed Saddiq.

He said there was nothing unusual about rural-urban youth migration as it happened not only in Malaysia, but also in other countries.

“In 2013 to 2015, there was an increase of 9.5 per cent in rural youth migration to urban areas. The majority were people aged 25 to 34 years at 35 per cent, and those aged 15 to 24 at 25 per cent,” he said during the question-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

The Youth and Sports Minister said the government would strive to give recognition to youth to serve at the highest village and district levels, to ensure that the generation has a sense of ownership to stay in their hometowns and villages. - Bernama