Youths urged to be involved in devt of state
What Sarawak will be in 20 to 30 years to come is reflected in the quality, ability, capability of today’s youths in positioning themselves in the government development agenda.
SARIKEI: Youths play a very significant role in shaping the future of the state, in particular, and the country, in general.
In this regard, Assistant Minister of Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Datu Len Talif Salleh wants the youths to be involved in the development of the state, as their ideas are crucial for formulating policies on education, economy and social development.
According to him, their role in this aspect is crucial given the fact that the youths, whose age range from 16 to 35 years old, represent 43 per cent of the state’s 2.5-million population.
“What Sarawak will be in 20 to 30 years to come is reflected in the quality, ability, capability of today’s youths in positioning themselves in the government development agenda,” he stressed when he officially launched a Youth Forum hosted by Tabung Ekonomi
Datu Len Talif Salleh, Assistant Minister of Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment
Gagasan Anak Bumiputera Sarawak (Tegas) at the civic centre here yesterday.
Len encouraged some 800 youths from the central region (Sarikei, Belawai, Mukah and Saratok) to make full use of the forum to learn as much as they could about government policies and development programmes from authentic sources, instead of relying on inaccurate information posted on social media.
Moreover, he said some of the local participants especially those who presented themselves well during the programme here, would be selected for the final leg of the forum set to take place at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching this Sept 23.
“They should be brave to ask questions as the main objectives of the forum are to enrich them with the relevant knowledge, as well as to prepare them for the digital economy era and the 4.0 Industrial Revolution – they should know what are required to enable them to become active players. “
The forum, held for the first time in collaboration with the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Centre ( Magic), was themed ‘ Innovate Sarawak’ and comprised Magic’s signature programme called ‘SPARK’.
“SPARK is a movement that aims to equip Malaysians with First World-thinking by altering attitudes and mindsets to match the country’s progress as we grow closer to becoming a developed nation. It is also to inculcate a problem-solving mindset – to view a problem as no longer a problem but rather, as an opportunity to find creative solutions and drive innovation collectively,” he elaborated.
Len, who is also Tegas chairman, said since the technical education promotion charitable trust for Sarawak Bumiputeras was launched in 2012, it had been gaining support from local youths.
For instance, during the initial stage Tegas had only three partners – the Education Department, Sarawak United National Youths Organisation ( Saberkas) and Barisan Nasional (BN) Youth – but now, not only it has 24 partners, but many agencies are also looking up at Tegas as a reliable and respectable partner.
He added that Tegas, which initially focused on promoting technical education and vocational training ( TVET), had diversified to promoting commerce and entrepreneurship among youths.
He disclosed that Tegas had been entrusted to develop the ‘Digital Village’ for which the state government had allocated RM30 million.
The forum also hosted Meradong assemblyman Datuk Ding Kuong Hiing, Sarikei Resident Mohd Junaidi Mohidin, acting Sarikei District Officer Badjuri Bidin, Tegas operations officer Awang Merali Pengiran Mohamad and Eddy Loh, a representative of Repok assemblyman.