Budget 2021: Providing for the youths

By Zaidi Isham Ismail
editor@dagangnews.com

Mention the word youths, all sorts of clichés and stereotypes emerge.

They are considered lazy, stubborn, opinionated and hard to mould. But are they really?

But conversely,  it is true what they say. Youths of today are the leaders of tomorrow.

Cliché as it sounds, this adage rings true as 70% of Malaysia's population are below the age of 50 years old.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said it himself that youths should be given more chances to prove themselves such as lead congregational prayers and be young leaders.

And an important part of the government's spending on the rakyat include the youths.

Under Budget 2021, a lot of goodies were announced for the country which include the youths.

The government has to sustain jobs, the economy and livelihoods. And these include investing in youths.

But were there any goodies announced for them?

Although a huge bulk of the budget or RM17 billion was allocated for the healthcare sector, never the less the government did not neglect the younger generation.

A total of RM50.3 billion was allocated for the education system.

The government also allocated RM150 million to government linked companies to buy laptops for schoolchildren.

A total of RM55 million was allocated to upgrade sports infrastructure and bolster the development of e-sports.

A credit of RM50 in e-wallet was also allocated for each youths between 18-20 years of age.

Speaking to a radio station on November 15, Youth and Sports Deputy Minister, Senator Wan Ahmad Fayshal Wan Ahmad Kamal said the government is always mindful on the welfare of youths.

"The government always make sure that the undergraduates will get job opportunities at government-linked companies once they graduate.

Under the 12th Malaysia Plan which was tabled in Parliament on November 12, youths will be given opportunities to nurture and practice their skills to become young entrepreneurs and set up companies in both urban and rural areas.

Freelancers who are not attached to any employers are given assistance by the Multimedia Development Corporation as well as participate in the global freelancing programme and provide their services to international clients.

But are all these allocation for the youths enough?

As an example, the government could improve the Internet infrastructure outside of the Klang Valley.

Remember Viveonah Mosibin from Universiti Malaysia Sabah? She became viral on social media when she posted her pictures climbing up a tree to get Internet connection.

However, the apprenticeship programme launched by the government was commendable as it allowed youths to earn some allowances while working in the corporate world such as in government linked companies.

Government spending is a very complicated matter. 

The government need all of its expertise to balance between what is essential and what is non-essential for the country.

The government has to consider, balance and sieve on what youths need and do not need.

However, the government needs to invest in youths now to meet the country's future requirements.

The fact of the matter is Malaysia is an aging nation and the country needs more youths to be trained as future leaders.

At the end of the day, the government has to do a lot of work to ensure that the budget is channelled equally to all segments of the rakyat and this includes the youths.

Don't ignore the youths because as the saying goes, youths are the future leaders of the country and the future leaders of tomorrow.  -  DagangNews.com

The writer is former NST Business assistant editor