Deputy Higher Education Minister Saifuddin Abdullah is giving his thumbs up to the Himpunan Mahasiswa Malaysia's (Malaysia Youth and Students Democratic Movement) gathering planned for tomorrow as a step towards student involvement in the nation’s decision-making process.

NONE “I hope it will be a catalyst for galvanising the country's student movement throughout the spectrum of life experiences, including politics,” said Saifuddin ( right ).

He said there was a need for students’ voices to be heard, their roles to be recognised, and their issues to be handled in alignment with their outlook.

He described the gathering to be held at Dataran MBPJ in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, as timely to address these needs.

The deputy minister will officiate the half-day event that begins at 8am and features presentations by various student leaders.

“One of the conditions required for this is to innovate on democracy, by raising and broadening student participation in the structures and processes of decision-making,” he said.

students protest against price hike in putrajaya pm's department He repeated his call for allowing student involvement in politics, and was pleased that many initiatives in this direction have borne fruit.

The deputy minister, who has consistently been vocal in support of student participation in Malaysia’s political scene, said that much work remains to be done.

“We need to begin discussions on initiatives for innovation the democratic process, for example implementing automatic voter registration, lowering the voting age to 18, appointment of youth representatives as senators and members of local councils and so forth,” said Saifuddin.