Like his predecessor Khairy Jamaluddin, the new Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has been criticised for being too young to helm a political party and ministry.

However, each spoke up for the other during a joint press conference, during which Khairy handed over his duties to Syed Saddiq.

Syed Saddiq noted that he had sought Khairy's advice on managing the ministry and will continue to work with him in future.

"(We) will continue to hold similar sessions and work with the youth wings of political parties, including Umno and PAS," he said.

The Bersatu Youth chief also said Khairy had left big shoes for him to fill.

Khairy, in turn, expressed pride in Syed Saddiq being the "product" of the ministry's past efforts.

"I feel proud. Although we come from different political parties, Syed Saddiq is the product of the Youth and Sports Ministry," he said, referring Syed Saddiq being a Perdana fellow and a Youth Premier Award recipient.

"I am impressed that he has proven within a short period that he is a leader who is admired by both his friends and rivals.

"The minister is very capable. I hope Malaysians can give him a chance. We must look at performance and ability instead of age. Age is merely a number," he added.

Empowering youth

Syed Saddiq stated that he aims to empower the youth and make sure their voices are heard.

"The majority of youth organisations (set age limits) below 30 instead of 40 or 35 years.

"At the same time, we see that leaders of the nation are a bit sensitive."

Syed Saddiq pointed out that Khairy had previously also been criticised for being too young to lead.

This was a possible reference to last Saturday's Umno election, in which Khairy had been rejected as party president by certain quarters stating that he was too young to helm the party.

The minister also cited several prominent young heads of state, such as Canada's Justin Trudeau, Austria's Sebastian Kurz and France's Emmanuel Macron.

Responding to a Harapan Youth petition that called for Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad to have been appointed youth and sports minister, Syed Saddiq said he was not slighted by it.

According to him, the best response would be for him to continue with his duties and prove his ability.