Did you know that 28% of the Malaysian population are made up of youth? They certainly hold an enormous potential for change and positive action in society. Unfortunately, they are often asked to “wait for their turn”, or get years of experience under their belt before they are given the opportunity to speak their minds and contribute to nation building.

This was not the case at Youth PACT 2022 where up to 15 youth organisations and leaders were given the platform to present their views, talk about their work, as well as raise awareness on critical issues impacting their generation, from gender equality, education inequity, rights of persons with disabilities, climate justice, and many more.

According to Emellia Shariff, CEO of the Malaysian Institute for Debate & Public Speaking (MIDP), Youth PACT aims to be a platform that celebrates all the passion, values and the work that brilliant young advocates have done and will continue to do to fight for a better Malaysia.

“It is in the same spirit and philosophy that we – Taylor’s College and MIDP curated this forum by youths, for youths with the vision to provide a safe space for intellectual discussion and discourse ,” said Taylor’s College campus director Josephine Tan.

Social Media Shapes The Political Landscape

The rise of social movements in the last decade has certainly provided fertile platforms and opportunities for the younger generation to voice out and contribute to Malaysia’s social and economic development. 

During one of the forum sessions, Syed Saddiq, MP Muar Parliament mentioned to all the viewers to not let anyone tell that their voice is too small or that they are not vocal enough. If you want to be a changemaker but do not want to make a huge leap into the frontline politics, you can always start by sharing your thoughts, creating short speeches, or making videos on social media.

“It is time that everyone shifts their approach by looking beyond hierarchy and racial politics and make room for younger personalities as key leadership figures,” YB Lim Yi Wei, DAP Socialist Youth said.

Apa Lagi Belia Mahu?

Aside from politics, Youth PACT is also invested in addressing social justice. During the Youth Manifesto session, young leaders were invited to provide insights into the issues they champion.

Aptly named “Apa Lagi Belia Mahu'' this session puts in the limelight the demands and changes our youths would like to see for a better Malaysia. Some of the highlights from this session are as follows:

Beyond Keluarga Malaysia

“Malaysia’s diversity is its biggest strength, but also its biggest challenge. In a world where differences can easily divide communities and nations, it is imperative for Malaysia’s long term sustainability that young Malaysians know how to live, collaborate and work with people of different cultural, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds,” Jason Wee, co-founder of Architects of Diversity Malaysia explained.

Ending Education Inequity

Education inequity is still a problem in Malaysia. According to the Education Blueprint, 1 out of 5 Malaysian students do not complete their secondary school education. “To make sure all our students have the interest in education, educators have to work with school leaders to build their skills, knowledge and motivation”, said Cheryl Ann Fernando, CEO of Pemimpin.

A Safe Malaysia For Women and Girls

Approximately 1 in 3 women have experienced sexual harrasment. The founder of dearHer, Anis Baharin said that there are three kind of issues that exist in Malaysia which are persistent rape culture, rampant violence against women and normalising phedophilia. If these issues are not overcomed, it would instill fear among women everytime they walk out of their house.

Better Rights For Persons With Disabilities

According to Muhammad Nasrul, Disabled Social Activist from BolehSpace, people with disabilities (PWDs) are more likely to experience adverse socioeconomic outcomes such as less education, poorer health outcomes, lower levels of employment, and higher poverty rates. Therefore, it is imperative to ask PWDs what they need to be able to function as equal members of society.

Towards Sustainable ECO-nomy

On the issue of climate justice, Heng Kiah Chun, Campaigner from Greenpeace Malaysia said that recycling is good but recycling alone cannot fix our global plastic problem fast enough. Hence, the government should enforce Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in the production of plastics and set clear reduction targets for non-essential plastics and invest in e-designing alternatives such as refill and reuse systems.

Addressing Injustices through Social Innovation

During the workshop session, Rashvin Pal Sing, Co-founder of Biji Biji Initiative explained social innovation is a new movement grounded in the idea of driving social change by focusing on sustainable and efficient solutions that create value for society rather than for an individual’s benefit only. In other words, social innovation goes beyond profit maximisation to communal goodwill — profit is good, but doing social good is even better!

In a separate workshop on “Measuring Impact Of Social Justice Campaigns”, Rizal Rozhan from Impact Malaysia taught the participants that there are 5 steps in measuring a campaign’s impact, which are understanding campaign goals, identifying success indicators, decide the frequency and methods, as well as organising the data.

Disrupt the Status Quo

In the Youth Mentorship session, Raudhah Nazran, CEO of Accelerate Global said that there will be a lot of backlash and there will be people who will question your decision when you are disrupting the status quo, but the way to address that is to focus on your work and showcase results.”

If you had missed the event, don’t worry because you can visit MIDP Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/MIDPToday to watch the youth manifestos and mentorship sessions, forum, and capacity building workshops! Remember when young people rise up, amazing things can happen!

Tags: Youth PACT, Taylor’s College, Malaysian Institute for Debate & Public Speaking, MIDP, Josephine Tan, Emellia Shariff, Syed Saddiq, Lim Yi Wei, Rashvin Pal Singh