Future leaders get a glimpse of rural life
URBANISATION can be a doubleedged sword for the people.
While it brings them closer to modern amenities and enables them to enjoy a better quality of life, it can also lead to the deterioration of community cohesion.
It is with this in mind that the Information Department has made fostering unity an important component of the Young Leaders Programme which it organises annually for students of institutions of higher learning.
Introduced in 2003, the programme was initially held at the state level, before being implemented at the national level beginning in 2013.
It is aimed at nurturing and developing the capabilities of Malaysian youths, and grooming them to become responsible and outstanding leaders.
A total of 101 students participated in last year’s edition of the Young Leaders Programme, which took place from Oct 31 to
Nov 3 at Felda Tun Ghafar in Hutan Percha, Malacca.
Among the participants was Surendra Louis, 23, who is pursuing a degree in chemical engineering at Universiti Kuala Lumpur.
The highlight of the programme was the placement of the participants with 37 host families within the Felda settlement for a period of four days.
Surendra, who stayed with a Chinese settler and his family, said the whole programme was an unforgettable experience for him, and that he was impressed by how well all the participants and their host families bonded with each other.
They got to know each other well and behaved as if they belonged to “one big happy family”, he told Bernama.
Relating his experience, Surendra said the people in the town of Bukit Katil, Melaka, where he lived with his family, were not close and kept to themselves.
“Here (Felda Tun Ghafar), the people are more communitycentred. For example, should any of them want to hold a function or kenduri (feast), the whole community gets together to organise it.
“More than anything, their spirit of unity and sense of camaraderie really touched my heart,” he said, adding that city folk can learn from the villagers about how to coexist harmoniously.
He said his stay with his Chinese hosts enabled him to learn about their culture, food and way of life.
“At their house, I got to eat bak kut teh and pak choy, which I usually only eat at restaurants,” said Surendra, who is of Indian and French parentage.
He added that the government should organise more initiatives like the Young Leaders Programme to enable youths, especially those from urban areas, to interact with rural families and learn from them. – Bernama