If you are reading this now, I am most probably back in the comfort of my family, friends and home after my three-month internship at the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (IFA) of Germany in Stuttgart.

My stay in Germany and my travel to other parts of Europe have been incredibly educational and an eye-opener. Call me ‘clingy’ or ‘overly attached’ but no matter where I am, Malaysia will always have a special place in my heart and mind. Which is why I am truly excited to come home not just for the food (top of the list I miss the most) but also to catch up with family and friends as well as to share the experience and wisdom that I have gained throughout my time abroad.

The cross-cultural internship programme that I was fortunate to be part of focuses on social welfare and social development through volunteerism and social activism. Throughout my stay in Stuttgart I was given ample opportunity to work, learn and experience the unique culture and ways of various German organisations in tackling different social issues such as homelessness, poverty, and women and domestic violence just to name a few.

Having some experience in dealing with similar issues back at home as a lawyer as well as an activist, these opportunities that were presented to me through this programme gave me a lot of insight and knowledge that I believe could be adopted and acclimatised to our own ways and strategies in combating such issues at home.

And to be honest, we Malaysians have a long road ahead of us before we could achieve the level of awareness, maturity and mentality of fellow Germans in the matter of social welfare and development.

Social responsibility

Whether you are aware or not, we are seeing a positive trend in which many Malaysian youths especially amongst university students are starting to take up volunteering as a way to fill their free times.

In Malaysia we have plenty of volunteer-based organisations and groups that some are empowered by young adults. These organisations and groups are fighting for a lot of different causes and social issues in which some are very common within the society such as the issue of poverty and homelessness while others may come out as a bit strange but equally important.

This in return results in a plethora of choices to choose from for those who are keen to fight particular causes or help in certain social issues. The field of volunteerism and community service in Malaysia has become truly versatile and certainly contain plenty of flavours for almost everyone. In other words, volunteerism is definitely everyone’s cup of tea.

However, volunteering should not be just a trend because trends come and go. We need to start treating community service and the culture of volunteering as a form of ‘social responsibility’ that involves every single individual and organisation; as their moral duty to maintain the welfare of the community and environment that they live in.

Being socially responsible is one of the products of a morally matured society. In Germany, in general, young adults of the age 18-25 volunteer themselves to work in social work fields as a way to help their own communities and to gain experience before pursuing for higher education or starting their first jobs.

We should try to instil this sense of responsibility among the members of our society by exposing our younger generation to community service from a very early age and make it part of our culture.

Nonpartisan and independent political thinking

To my surprise, many of the young Germans that I have met and talked to have rather vast knowledge on current issues and politics and they were never shy to speak of their mind. The eligible age to vote in Germany is 18 years old and many young people that I have spoken to were able to confidently justify their decision to support a certain political party or leaders.

These young people too were able to express their opinions on so many political issues that were happening in their country passionately and confidently with facts and figures especially on current social issues like the immigration crisis in Europe and drug abuse.

It was surreal for me as a Malaysian to listen to their articulated opinions and their stand on their government’s policies and laws given the fact that many of our dear brothers and sisters back in Malaysia were restrained by taboo and law from freely learning, understanding, discuss and even take a stand on some of the political issues concerning the well-being of our nation and the people.

It is utterly disappointing that in Malaysia we suppress our younger generation from engaging in healthy political discussions and dialogues and deny them the rights of independent thinking and the freedom to support or oppose the government and its policies especially those concerning the welfare of the people and the nation.

I believe in productive and meaningful political discourses and dialogues that involve our youths in order to create a society that is politically matured, tolerant and open to criticisms and suggestions. If we are encouraging our youths to be out there to interact and work for the community, we also should be more receptive towards their valuable and constructive ideas and feedback.

The government must feel the need to listen to the voices of the younger generation and not to deny their rights to think, to speak and to act independently.

A better nation

In conclusion, I believe in order for Malaysia to become a welfare nation that protects and provides the economic and social well being of its people, we need to make a culture out of volunteering as our social responsibility and to reform our social-welfare system so it would be easily accessed, transparent and able to reach out to as many people in need as possible.

Lastly, we also need to fund meaningful, effective and cost-efficient projects and programmes that deliver results in combating the social problems we are facing today. Which is why the involvement of NGOs, academicians and activists in the making of policies and laws pertaining to social welfare and development is essential and should be encouraged and recognized by the government.

Love from Stuttgart.

NURAINIE HAZIQAH SHAFI’I is a practising lawyer.