KUCHING, Jan 11: Youths in Malaysia can ultimately be the social actors of change in their own generation in bringing a ‘reset’ to politics.
This is the view of Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii when he said the younger generation would act as gamechangers to Malaysian politics as they break the cycle of traditional stagnant, lip-service leadership into leadership for the people.
As the building blocks of the nation and the evolver of future social, economic, political and cultural transformation, he said the voices of the youths must be heard.
That was why a movement with the name #GenerasiKita was organised last night (Jan 10) where there was an engagement between a group of young people as young as 17 years old and several of the young elected leaders.
Throughout the online meeting session, Dr Yii said, the youths were the one taking control of the conversation rather than the usual top-down conversation where only leaders get to speak up.
“Gone are the days where leaders talk down to the young thinking they ‘know-it-all’ and merely expecting them to follow.
“Youths must be treated as equal stakeholders in rebuilding our nation. The #GenerasiKita movement believes in rising leaders from each generation and working hand in hand across generations in taking ownership over the direction of our country,” he said in a statement today.
Adding on, he asserted that this movement is to regain hopes of the youth not only in Malaysian politicians but in the democratic system of the nation itself.
Noting an increasing number of people especially among the young ones who have lost hope in the nation and do not see themselves in Malaysia’s own future, Dr Yii expressed his hopes to turn the table around.
“That is why my hope, especially for this year, is to see the growth of more young, strong, honest minds that can act as the necessary spark to ignite the wind of change in leadership culture in our country.
“More importantly, I do hope that more and more Malaysian youths can actually see themselves in Malaysia’s future and take ownership of it,” he remarked. —DayakDaily
