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Globalisation. Today that is what we are faced with. That is our challenge as a nation. The magnitude of technology, faster people connectivity and impeccable competition of corporations. We are living in a world that is demanding freer movement of goods, services and people and we cannot afford to close our doors and opportunities to this.

We cannot afford to remain a recluse and rely 100 percent on the local market of Malaysia. At the Asean Young Leaders Summit we were told that if Asean is a single country we’d be first in the world for crude palm oil production, natural rubber production and issuance of sukuk and second for rice production and value for foreign direct investment.

We know that from PriceWaterhouseCooper’s (PwC) cost-benefit analysis that if we reject the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), we would lose out on a US$107 billion increase of our GDP, US$136 billion increase in investments and a minimum 4.3 percent growth in trade surplus.

We know this. We see the numbers and we see out potential. But how are we to compete with the rest of the world when we’re struggling ourselves to make ends meet? We as the youth are not indifferent by the rising costs, I may be able to pay my car loan but I feel the pain of the toll especially I am going to an area only for a couple of hours for meetings for example.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST), rationalisation, increase in tariffs, even increases in KTM ticket prices. YB Khairy Jamaluddin has been consistent, urging the Pemuda wing to agree with him that enough is enough. With a stronger voice from Pemuda against the rise in costs, so too will be his voice next time in cabinet.

Every minister has a voice but he too has a collective responsibility to the other ministers’ voices. Better than not being on the cabinet. What voice would we have then?

However I always believe that when one door closes, another opens. I am talking about the various platforms the government creates to make way for the youth to become entrepreneurs. As a GenY, when I ask my friends so many want to be entrepreneurs, they want to build companies and make a living on their own.

So I urge the youth to make use of opportunities the government created. Just for 2016, the government is allocating a total of RM110 million for SMEs entrepreneurship, RM500 million to Tekun for microenterprises, RM90 million for the Youth Agropreneur Development Programme, RM35 million to MaGIC as a leading regional entrepreneurship and innovation hub, including RM10 million as initial allocation for the Corporate Entrepreneurs Responsibility Fund, RM150 million is allocated to Teraju.

Add those initiatives to the new ones by YB Khairy under his unfaltering leadership of the Pemuda Wing. We understand the issue is also outreach. We understand it is also a confidence issue. We understand it is about guidance.

Amongst others, Pemuda has held various roadshows has been done to give awareness on financial security for example recently the Konvensyen Dana Bumiputera to ensure financial advice is given, the Pemuda Mahir for Technical and Vocational Education and Training to give second chances to those who couldn’t make it academically and boost their confidence and employability and we are introducing the framework to have coding lessons for rural children youth to find our own Zuckerberg.

Even if your stand may be different from mine politically, I truly believe that the government has provided so many initiatives for the youth and it is up to us to take it. So I strongly suggest the aspiring business owners to come to PWTC and see the booths around promoting these schemes because they have always been in your favour. It has always been the cause the government fights for, ever since 1957.


IKMAL HAZLAN IKMAL HISHAM is Tanah Merah, Kelantan Umno Youth division treasurer and state coordinator of Barisan National Youth Volunteers, Kelantan.

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