Get involved if you want change, Khairy urges youth
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian youth must take the plunge and get involved if they want change for the better.
Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said they should not wait passively in the hope that the older generation would fix what was wrong.
“Only you know what your peers want. Only you know what makes them choose.
“We need young people to speak up,” he said at the Kuala Lumpur International Youth Discourse here yesterday.
He said youth had the power to fight radicalisation through inclusiveness and openness.
He said the government leadership must be bold and aware of the fact that it was “no longer know-itall”.
“If we want to empower the young people of today, it is important that we get out of their way and let them take charge of their ambition and destiny.
“The government should be courageous enough to allow young people to make the changes they want.
“I am not talking about change through violence, but about the strong, mainstream desire of our young people to make the world a better place.”
Khairy called on Malaysian youth to organise programmes that propagated the message of wasatiyyah or moderation, and initiatives that help other young people succeed in their careers.
“You have the privilege of being listened to by the top echelons of government and institutions and, at the same time, are able to influence the youth of today.
“Stand with us, the older generation, in eliminating the root causes of radicalisation once and for all.”
He said it was not enough to just proclaim that Islam was a religion of peace to correct public perception.
Instead, he said, it was important to show and prove that Islam was a force for good.
“It is not enough to say that Islam is a peaceful religion. We need to demonstrate it.”
Pic by Khairull Azry Bidin speaking at the 2016
at the Putra World