The 2050 National Transformation policy (TN50) is not a replacement for Vision 2020, said Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

Khairy said the first phase of TN50, as envisioned by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, will allow young people to share their ideas on Malaysia's future.

He said young people of today will be the leaders of Malaysia come 2050 and was thus the core stakeholders in charting TN50 through a bottom-up approach.

"Some people say it's to erase it. No. Vision 2020 will finish in the year 2020.

"It doesn’t mean we can't have another vision for the next 30 years, so that's something we have to explain," said Khairy said in an interview published by Sunday Star today.

He said Najib wanted youths to have a sense of collective ownership in planning the country's future.

Khairy, who is the youngest cabinet member, is the head of the TN50 dialogue process.

Looking ahead, Khairy said Najib will officiate a "kick off" event in January, followed by townhall and focus group sessions throughout the country to gather ideas.

"We will have as many sessions so that nobody can say they were not consulted. It's going to be a messy process.

"I mean you're going to have so many different comments and ideas, most of which will probably be things that are difficult to implement," said Khairy, who expects the process to be completed in 18 months.

Khairy said school children, for example, can contribute through essays on how they imagine Malaysia to be in 2050.

"At university level, we will have debates on whether in 2050 we will have the death penalty, or will we still be importing food.

"Short film competitions where young directors take us through Kuala Lumpur in seven minutes in how they imagine the city.

"Artists to do their interpretation of Malaysia in 2050. Young people’s asset is their imagination, so we will ask them to imagine what Kuala Lumpur will be like in 2050. The opportunities are endless," he said.