Country Youth Prof ile

Country Youth Prole - MALAYSIA

Women and Youth Empowerment Division

Resilience and Social Development Department

February 2019

MALAYSIA

1. Socio-Economic Prole

1.1 Malaysia is a Federal constitutional monarchy in Southeast Asia. It has an estimated population of 32, 321, 303

as of March 2019

and is the third largest economy in Southeast Asia

. The country transformed from an agriculture

and commodity-based economy to one with strong manufacturing and service base that have made it a leading

exporter of electrical appliances, electronic parts, and components

. The Government of Malaysia (GoMY) aspires

to move from an Upper middle-income to a high-income economy by 2020

. Malaysia’s economy has been on an

upward trend since the end of the Asian nancial crisis in 1997-1998, with an average growth rate of 5.4% since

2010

. Since less than 1% (0.4%) of households live below the extreme poverty line, the GoMY’s focus is on address-

ing the well-being of the poorest 40% of its population

1.2 Malaysia has maintained its position of 57

among 189 countries in the United Nations Development Program’s

(UNDP) 2017 Human Development Index (HDI)

. Its HDI value increased by 24.7% between 1990 and 2017

. In com-

parison with The Philippines and Thailand, two countries from the East Asia and Pacic region with close HDI rank

and population size as Malaysia, the country’s position of 57

is above both countries of 113

and 83

respective-

. In regard to the Gender Inequality Index (GII), Malaysia’s once again maintained its 2016 standing of 62

out of

160 countries in 2017

. However, the current rank is three steps below its 2015 position of 59

but higher than that

of The Philippines, and Thailand’s at 97

and 93

respectively

1.3. The National Youth Development Policy (NYDP) is the country’s youth policy adopted in 1997 and denes youth

as individuals between 15-40 years

. The policy noted that the main focus of its development programs would

involve only persons aged 18-25 years

. The new youth policy, the Malaysian Youth Policy adopted in 2015, catego-

rizes youth as people aged 18-30 years, but the application of the new denition started in 2018

. The Department

of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM) denes youth as persons between 15-24 years. While young people in the Member

States of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) are dened based on each country’s law and regu-

lations, the organization classies youth as anyone aged between 15-35 years

. The United Nations and the Asian

Development Bank use the same categorization of youth as the DoSM, and the Commonwealth identies young

people aged 15-29 as youth.

1.4 Malaysia’s score on the Global Youth Development Index for 2016 was 34

out of 183 countries

. The country

is ranked among the ten Commonwealth countries with a high YDI

. Also, Malaysia and Mynamar improved the

most among South East Asia and Pacic countries. Both countries improved by 16% with Malaysia recording strong

improvement in Civic Participation, made moderate gains in the other three domains, with a slight decrease in the

scores for adolescent fertility, drug abuse and not in education, employment or training (NEET) rates

1.5. The ofcial minimum age for marriage in civil law for young women and men was changed to 18 years by the

1 World Population Review (2019), Malaysia Country Data, http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/malaysia-population/

2 Australian Government (ND), Country Prole-Malaysia, https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about/reports-publications/research-statistics/sta-

tistics/live-in-australia/country-proles/malaysia

3 World Bank (2018), The World Bank in Malaysia: Overview, http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/malaysia/overview

4 Asian Development Bank(ADB), 2018, Malaysia Fact Sheet, https://www.adb.org/sites/default/les/publication/27778/mal-2017.pdf,

5 World Bank 2018, op.cit

6 Ibid

7 UNDP (2018), Malaysia Country Note, http://hdr.undp.org/sites/all/themes/hdr_theme/country-notes/MYS.pdf, P.3

8 Ibid:2

9 Ibid:3

10 Ibid: 34

11 Ibid: 5

12 GoMY (1997), National Youth Development Policy, http://www.youthpolicy.org/national/Malaysia_1997_National_Youth_Development_Poli-

cy.pdf, P.1

13 Ibid:2

14 Borneo Post (2015), Khairy: New Denition of Youth to be implemented in 2018, http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/05/17/khairy-new-

denition-of-youth-age-to-be-implemented-in-2018/

15 ASEAN (2017), First ASEAN Youth Development Index, https://asean.org/storage/2017/10/ASEAN-UNFPA_report_web-nal-05sep.pdf, P.11

16 Commonwealth Secretariat (2016), Global Youth Development Index, https://youtheconomicopportunities.org/sites/default/les/uploads/

resource/2016%20Global%20Youth%20Development%20Index%20and%20Report.pdf, P.

17 Ibid:33

18 Ibid:47

Country Youth Prole - MALAYSIA

Prime Minister on 19

October 2018

. Before then, it was 16 years and 18 years for female and male respectively

However, girls can marry at 16 years with the permission of the state’s Chief Minister, while Islamic law stipulates 16

years, earlier age marriages are allowed with permission from the Sharia courts

. Malaysia committed to eliminat-

ing child, early and forced marriage by 2030 in line with target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

However, the government did not provide an update on progress towards this target during its National Voluntary

Review at the 2017 High-Level Political Forum

Table 1: Youth at Glance in Malaysia

Categories Females Males

Age of marriage 18 18

Labor force participation (ILO 2016) 35.3% 49.9%

Unemployment (ILO 2016) 11.4% 9.8%

NEET (ILO, 2016) 15.3% 8.4%

Net enrolment (UNESCO, 2017) 77.96% 72.11%

Literacy Rate (UNESCO, 2017) 98.22% 98.1%

Out of school (WEF-GGGR, 2018) 35.6% 46.2%

2. Youth in National Development: Institutional and Policy Framework

2.1. The importance of youth as a social category to harness development was rst acknowledged in Malaysia as

early as 1948 with the formation of the Malaysia Youth Council (MYC) as a voluntary, non-governmental organiza-

tion (NGO)

. The Seventh Malaysia Plan (1996-2000), was the country’s rst development plan to mention youth

development. The government’s vision on youth development as articulated in the Plan “is to provide youth with the

necessary skills to increase their participation and contribution to nation-building, as well as to develop their leader-

ship qualities and inculcate positive values among them”

. The MYC is the sole coordinating organization for youth

and students in Malaysia. The organization is actively involved in monitoring the implementation of the National

Youth Policy as well as in policy process through the National Youth Consultative Council (NYCC)

2.2. Youth development in Malaysia is overseen by three bodies, the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS), the

NYCC and the MYC

. The MoYS established in 1964, is an offshoot from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.

Its function is to contribute to the development of the youth policy, through its position as chair of the NYCC and

to serve as the policy’s key implementation entity

. The ministry has two implementing arms, the Youth

Division and the Sports Division

. The Youth Division comprises four departments, Skill Training Institutes, Youth

Economic Development Department, Youth NGO Development Department, and the Rakan Muda (Youth Partners)

Department

2.3. The NYCC formed in 1972, is in charge of youth policy formulation and is chaired by the MoYS.

19 Malay Mail (2018), Dr. M Ordered All States to Raise Minimum Marriage to 18 Penang Exco Reveals, https://www.malaymail.

com/s/1684906/dr-m-ordered-all-states-to-raise-minimum-marriage-age-to-18-penang-exco-rev?utm_source=izooto&utm_medium=push_no-

tication&utm_campaign=browser_push&utm_content=&utm_term=

20 Girls not Bride (ND), Malaysia Country Data, https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/child-marriage/malaysia/

21 Ibid

22 Ibid

23 Ibid

24 ESCAP (2002), Youth in Malaysia: A Review of the Youth Situation and National Policies and Programs, http://www.youthpolicy.org/library/

wp-content/uploads/library/2002_Youth_Malaysia_Review_Policies_Programmes_Eng.pdf, P.7

25 Ibid: 12

26 Ibid:7

27 Ibid:5

28 Ibid:7

29 Ibid:7

30 Ibid:7

The objectives of the NYCC are –

• To monitor the implementation of the NYP;

• To advise the Minister of Youth and Sports in formulating Policies on the issues related to youth development;

• To act as a consultative and advisory body for youth organizations and the State Youth Consultative Councils;

and

• To coordinate the planning and activities of all youth organizations and State Youth Consultative Councils

2.4. The National Youth Development Policy (NYDP) enacted in 1997, developed from the 1985 policy

. The NYPD’s

objective is to establish “ a holistic and harmonious Malaysian youth force imbued with strong spiritual and moral

values, who are responsible, independent and patriotic, thus, serving as a stimulus to the development and prosper-

ity of the nation in consonance with Vision 2020”

. The NYPD’s seven strategies include developing a knowledge

base on youth as well as focusing on skills development

2.5 The current legal framework for youth is the Malaysia Youth Policy (MYP) which was enacted in 2015 and be-

came operational in 2018. The MYP lowered ofcial age designation for youth from 15-40 years that was operation-

al between 1997-2017 to 18-30 years starting 2018.

3. Education

3.1. The GoMY notes that gender parity in primary education and literacy levels are almost at par between girls and

boys. Also, gender disparity is not an issue in terms of survival to 6

grade and primary completion rates

. The gen-

der parity index for Lower Secondary Assessment and in the Malaysian Certicate Assessment girls outperformed

boys in all four subjects, English, Mathematics, Malay and Science

. Also, the gross enrollment in upper secondary

education is in favor of girls, showing that boys have a lower transition rate from lower to upper secondary school

3.2. Vocational courses have been introduced in regular secondary schools to get boys to stay longer in school to

bridge the gap in the education system

. Boys have also been encouraged to opt for teaching careers as it has

been shown as one of the reasons why they do not perform well in schools is the lack of role models

. On the other

hand, girls are being encouraged to study carpentry, wiring, and electronics, besides traditional sewing and cooking

classes

. At the upper secondary level, girls are encouraged to choose the traditional male-dominated elds of

study such as engineering and technical education as electives, instead of the female-oriented courses in home

economics, commerce, and entrepreneurship

3.3 At the tertiary level, about 55% of higher education intakes into public and private universities, community col-

leges and polytechnics were dominated by females at 280, 296 against males 230, 858 in 2015

. Females have a

higher enrolment rate in public universities at 63% versus males at 61% . The registration numbers were evened out

in private universities where the ratio was close to 50:50

. Also, in 2015, 169, 198 females successfully graduated

from higher education against 120, 590 males

3.2. Skills-Based Training

3.2.1. The technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sub-sector has been identied as a critical en-

abler for the success of the government’s economic transformation program, with nearly 100 million jobs requiring

32 Ibid:9

33 Ibid:11

34 Youth Policy Factsheet (ND), Malaysia: Youth Policy Factsheet, http://www.youthpolicy.org/factsheets/country/malaysia/

35 GoMY (2015), Malaysia National Education for All Review Report: End of Decade Review, http://unesdoc.unesco.org/imag-

es/0022/002297/229719E.pdf, P. 85

36 Ibid:86

37 Ibid:85

38 Ibid:83

39 Ibid:83

40 Ibid:82

41 Ibid:83

42 Malaysiakini (2017), Empowering Women, Empowering Malaysia, https://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/368977

43 Ibid

44 Ibid

Country Youth Prole - MALAYSIA

certicates or diplomas by 2020

. As a result, several reforms have been introduced to raise the quality of TVET

offerings and to ensure programs are in line with industry needs and requirements. The reengineering of the TVET

sector is being implemented in three phases of the strategic plan from 2011-2020: The Leap Phase (2011-2013),

the Growth Phase (2014-2016) and the Strengthening Phase (2017-2020)

3. 2.2. To this end, technical schools have been converted to vocational schools and harmonizing the TVET curricu-

lum with the needs of industries

. Vocational education has been introduced at the lower secondary level with 70%

of the curriculum geared towards vocational training and 30% towards academic education and strengthening poly-

technics as a viable alternative to universities

. Other initiatives include scaling up private skills training to reduce

the percentage of unskilled and semi-skilled workers by providing lower secondary school graduates or dropouts

with greater opportunities to pursue skills

. The government is encouraging private-public partnership whereby

vocational courses in secondary school will have their practical component at private skills training institutes

3.2.3. Despite these reforms to boost participation in TVET, the percentage of female enrollment in the sub-sector

has hovered around 32%. Several scholarships programs have been introduced to increase students’ participation

in TVET education. Upper secondary students who enroll in the Sciences will be given monthly stipend, and their

parents receive tax relief

. Trainees can also access nancial support through the Skills Development Fund

. Em-

ployers in the industry will enjoy tax rebates and priority access to graduates for recruiting to provide on-the-job

training to vocational students

. This is part of the attempt to make vocational training more industry relevant and

provide 200, 000 practicum placements by 2020

3.3 Inclusive Education

3.3.1 The legal framework for inclusive education (IE) in Malaysia consists of both international conventions and na-

tional laws. Malaysia has ratied the Convention of the Rights of the Child (1989), and the Convention on the Rights

of People with Disability, UNESCO’s (1990) Education for All Declaration; Salamanca Statement and Framework for

Action on Special Needs Education, (2000); Dakar Framework for Action (2000); the UN Convention on the Rights of

Persons with Disabilities (ICRPD); the UN Millennium Development Goals (2000); and the Sustainable Development

Goals (2016)

. Subsequently, the National Special Needs Education was introduced in the 1996 Education Act, and

the Education (Special Education) Regulations 2013 provide the legal framework for special education for children

with disabilities in the country

3.3.2. Malaysia’s special education needs include students with visual and hearing impairment, speech, physical,

and multiple disabilities. Learning disabilities such as autism, Down’s Syndrome, attention decit hyperactivity dis-

order and dyslexia

. Special needs students have access to three different schooling options-

• Special Education School: these are schools for students with hearing, seeing and/or learning disabilities. There

were 28 primary and 5 secondary schools as at 2013;

• Special Education Integration Program (SEIP): are mainstream schools with specic classes dedicated to special

education needs students. As of 2013, there were 1,315 and 738 primary and secondary schools respectively; and

• Inclusive Education Program: mainstream schools with one to ve special needs children in regular classes

45 UNESCO (2013), Malaysia: Education Blue Print 2013-2025, http://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/sites/planipolis/les/ressources/malaysia_

blueprint.pdf, P. A-32

46 Ibid:57

47 ILO (2016), Youth Employment Policy Summary-Malaysia, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---sro-bangkok/

documents/publication/wcms_534280.pdf, P.2

48 Ibid:2

49 GoMY 2013 op.cit: A-34

50 Ibid: A-34

51 ILO, op.cit:3

52 Ibid:3

53 Ibid:3

54 Ibid:3

55 Daily Express (2014), Inclusive Education- A Focus on Malaysia, http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=91426

56 Ibid

57 GoMY 2013, op.cit:4-15

58 Ibid 4-15

However, only 6% of special education needs children are part of the comprehensive programs

. This low rate is

due to the lack of technical know-how to assess or baseline special education needs inclusion programs and there-

fore do not know where they stand or how to improve the situation

. The Ministry of Education (MoE) has devel-

oped a tailored curriculum to cater for specic needs group such as blind and deaf students; however, there is less

support for students with learning disabilities such as autism

. Furthermore, the waiting time for the assessment

and intervention of development issues in Malaysia exceeds 6 months.

3.3.3 This is mainly due to limited specialists (such as clinical psychologists, speech therapists, and audiologist),

the underutilization of screening tools (such as Ministry of Health(MoH) Records book), and a lack of standardized

approaches for detection

. The MoE intends to forge strong collaboration with the MoH to fast-track early identi-

cation and diagnosis and plans to improve inclusive programs at the Early Childhood Care Education level

. The

MoE is committed to moving more students with special needs towards the inclusive education program (IEP) as

well as raising the overall quality of provision. This is being done in three phases- Wave 1 (2013-2015) focused on

strengthening the foundation while Wave 2 (2016-2020) scales up the initiatives, and Wave 3 (2021-2025) aims at

assessing and consolidating the initiatives for further improvement

3.3.4. Refugee children in Malaysia are denied access to the country’s education system, and therefore obtain

their education from the 128 informal parallel community-based learning centers in the country

. The UN Refugee

Agency, UNHCR advocates for refugee children’s access to education, provides nancial and material support to the

learning centers, support capacity building of teachers through teacher training and compensation, and continued

coordination of ad-hoc support towards enhancing access to, and quality of, education for refugees

. In total, there

are 150, 379 people of concern, 25,499 are under the age of 18, with 23, 823 that are of school-going ages

. Of the

23, 823 that are of school-going ages, only 30% are enrolled in community learning centers

. 14% (1,234) are aged

3-5 years enrolled in pre-school education, 44% (5,046) aged 6-13 years enrolled in primary education, and 16%

(874) aged 14-17 enrolled in secondary education

3.3.5 The challenges confronting the sector include:

•Denial of access to Malaysian formal public education

•Lack of certication and access to public examinations

•High turnover of teachers and minimal compensation

•Security and safety issues faced by the students and teachers in and out of school; and

•Lack of data on out-of-school children

4 Economic Empowerment

4.1 Employment and Unemployment

4.1.1 The youth unemployment rate of 10.5% in 2016, more than triple the country’s overall unemployment rate of

3.4% in the same period

. Of the 10.5% unemployed youth, females account for 11.4% compared to men 9.8%

The youth employment rate of 42.9%, comprised of 35.3% female, and 49.9% male

. The youth not in employment,

education or training (NEET) of 11.7% was made up of 15.3% and 8.4% women and men respectively

59 Ibid: 4-15

60 Ibid:4-15

61 Ibid: 4-15

62 Ibid 4-16

63 Ibid: 4-15

64 Ibid: 4-15

65 UNHCR (2019), Refugee Education In Malaysia, https://www.unhcr.org/education-in-malaysia.html

66 Ibid

67 Ibid

68 Ibid

69 Ibid

70 Ibid

71 ILO (ND), ILOSTAT-Malaysia, https://www.ilo.org/ilostat/faces/oracle/webcenter/portalapp/pagehierarchy/Page21.

jspx?_afrLoop=691474943340485&_afrWindowMode=0&_afrWindowId=null#!%40%40%3F_afrWindowId%3Dnull%26_afrLoo-

p%3D691474943340485%26_afrWindowMode%3D0%26_adf.ctrl-state%3Dtpuynk3yo_4

72 Ibid

73 Ibid

74 Ibid

Country Youth Prole - MALAYSIA

Figure 2: Youth Unemployment Rate 2012 and 2016

Source: ILOSTAT, 2016

4.1.2. In response to the country’s youth unemployment, the government embarked on an education reform pro-

gram, stimulating labor demand and improving the match between labor supply and demand

. In addition to a gen-

eral reform on the education sector, the increased focus was put on career guidance and early access to vocational

education

. The target groups of these reforms include different categories of youth including the unemployed,

students, rural youth, dropouts’, and indigenous

. Emphasis has been on increasing the participation of youth in

agriculture and in creating skilled youth in the elds of ICT, engineering, and management through the Industrial

Skills Enhancement Program

. Also, the government’s Entrepreneurship Critical Agenda Project aims to create

more entrepreneurs among graduates from higher education institutions

4.2 Ecosystem and Entrepreneurship Development

4.2.1 Malaysia’s ecosystem and entrepreneurship development sector are based on private-public partnership

(PPP). The GoMY’s interventions and initiatives to promote youth entrepreneurship include:

• Establishment of the small and medium-sized enterprises(SME) Corporation as a central Coordinating Agency

under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) in 2010;

• Establishment of the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Center (MaGIC) in 2014 to act as a one-stop cen-

ter to empower entrepreneurs (focus on youth) funded a fund of RM 50million;

• Establishment of Genovasi to develop youth as “innovation ambassadors” and to be a catalyst for progress, a

better quality of life and solutions for the nation;

• Launching of the Gathering of Rising Entrepreneur Act Together (GREAT), a movement to act as a platform for

aspiring entrepreneurs to collaborate among themselves and with potential investors;

• SME Bank allocating RM 50 million to assist Malaysia’s young and building business-minded through its young

entrepreneurship Fund (YEP)-RM 87 million;

• Yayasan Inovasi Malaysia (YIM) to champion the agenda on building an innovation ecosystem to benet SMEs

and society/community;

• Tekun Nasional is a nancial services agency for micro and small entrepreneurs under the Ministry of Agriculture

75 ILO 2016, op.cit:2

76 Ibid:2

77 Ibid:2

78 Ibid:2

79 Ibid:2

and Agro-based Industry. Tekun also provides comprehensive development support

4.2.2. MaGIC is at the forefront of promoting private sector investment in Malaysia’s ecosystem. According to MaG-

IC, its Corporate Entrepreneurship Responsibility (CER) is not only a powerful tool for both job creation and wealth

generation, but it also provides a platform for market expansion and fosters innovation, as well as empowers start-

ups to create solutions to everyday problems while creating economic opportunities

. Other government-funded

startups include Selangor Accelerate Progra by SITEC, Rave Accelerator by MYNEF, Cyber Living Lab Accelerator,

and ASEAN Data Startup Accelerator

• Private Startup Accelerators

Nexea Accelerator, The Hangout Startup Accelerator, Cyberlab/Finnext Startup Accelerator, Mad Incubator, Super-

charger Accelerator, Khazanah Neo Accelerator, 1337 Accelerator, Codear MY, Watch Tower & Friends Accelerator

•Corporate Startup Accelerators

Sunway Ilabs Incubator and Accelerators, Tunelabs Startup Accelerator, Hong Leong Bank Startup Accelerator, Digi

Startup Accelerator in Bangkok (Recruitment in Malaysia)

5. Youth Civic Engagement and Participation

5.1 Although youth mobilization for civic participation is primarily government business, few youth-focused NGOs

are engaging young people to become socially conscious and aware of the various social challenges confronting

the country

. However, it has been observed that youth civic participation in the country is low

. As mentioned ear-

lier, the MYC is the national umbrella organization for youth in Malaysia. It promotes responsibility, independence,

volunteerism, and patriotism. The MYC’s objectives include strengthening the democratic and voluntary participa-

tion of young people in organizations, representing youth organizations in government, promoting cooperation and

mutual understanding through youth work.

5.2 Other governmental programs include the National Service Training Program, which was introduced in 2004

amid rising racial polarization and lack of patriotism among youth. The objectives of the program are to increase

patriotism among young Malaysians, to instill racial harmony in youth, to develop positive character traits through

moral value, to develop volunteerism, and create a generation that is active physically, mentally and lled with

self-condence

. Participation was mandatory for girls and boys aged 18 years who were randomly selected to

spend three months in remote purpose-built camps often referred to as summer camps. Participants are incen-

tivized to participate in the program including free tuition, vocational training, and guaranteed employment in the

industrial sector and solid earnings as a base salary

5.3.The National Civics Bureau (BTN) started as a youth research unit in 1974 in the MoYS; it was later re-established

as a unit in the Prime Minister’s ofce in 1981. Its objective is to nurture the spirit of patriotism and commitment to

excellence among Malaysians, and train leaders and future leaders to support the nations development efforts

The program was criticized for “indoctrinating” Malay students and civil servants, and for openly promoting Ketu-

aanan Melayu (Malay dominance) and being blatantly partisan to Barisan Nasional (BN), the previous government

80 Arrin A.S, (2017), Policy Formulation Framework for Preparing Youth Entrepreneurs Becoming Innovation Players in Global

Market, https://www.google.sn/search?ei=d3zPW5uRG8aJgQb5_rHYDw&q=arrin%2C+A.S.%2C+Youth+enterpreneurship&oq=arri-

n%2C+A.S.%2C+Youth+enterpreneurship&gs_l=psy-ab.3.33i21k1.4723.5225.0.6369.2.2.0.unemployment, 0.0.0.317.539.2-1j1.2.0....0...

1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.2.535....0.tv6DClbc4pE, P.21

81 MaGIC (ND), Corporate Entrepreneurship Responsibility, https://mymagic.my/corporate-entrepreneurship-responsibility/

82 NEXEA (2018), Complete List of Top Accelerators in Malaysia, https://www.nexea.co/complete-list-top-startup-accelerators-malaysia/

83 Ibid

84 Ibid

85 Ibid

86 Lah Hsuan, K. (2015), Engaging The Voice of Youth for Tomorrow, https://leaderonomics.com/functional/voice-of-youth

87 Bartleby (ND), Research and Study on the National Service Training Program, https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Research-and-Study-on-the-

National-Service-P3CFF96SVJ

88 ICPC (ND), Innovations in Civic Participation: Malaysia, http://www.icicp.org/resource-library/icp-publications/global-youth-service-data-

base/asia-and-the-pacic/southeast-asia/malaysia/

89 Malasyia Kini (2018), No Place for Biro Tata Negara in New Malaysia, https://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/425584

90 Ibid

Country Youth Prole - MALAYSIA

Both programs were abolished in September 2018 because they failed to create patriotic and civic-minded youth;

instead, they were accused of propagating racial divisions in the country

5.4 In parallel, independent youth initiatives and movements that encourage national-building, unity and political

participation have emerged in the country’s political landscape. EcoKnights, an environmental rights organization,

has - through its Knights of Nature Sustainability Camps -empowered Malaysian youths in addressing environmen-

tal and social issues

. The Science of Life Studies 24/7 Malaysia (SOLS24/7) focuses on sustainable human devel-

opment. It has spearheaded projects such as the building of community centers throughout the country to provide

free education and conduct social empowerment programs

5.5 The Leaderonomics, through their youth leadership programs, aims to create a positive influence in the leader-

ship landscape. Their Leaderonomics Club initiatives in schools aim to drive intentional leadership growth among

students and their peers in their immediate spaces of influence

. The objective is to build grassroots leaders

through their programs. The programs are meant to inspire, empower and build solid relationships among youth,

so they grow and become agents of change in their communities

. Other organizations such as WWF-Malaysia,

Suka Society, Yayasan Generasi, Gemilang, Hospitals Beyond Boundaries, Need To Feed The Need, PERTIWI Soup

Kitchen and PAWS Animal Welfare Society focus on volunteerism

6. Development Partners in the Youth Sector

• The UN System

• The World Bank

7. Recommendations

i. The IsDB should work with the GoMY to advocate for age and sex-disaggregated data in

the youth sector;

ii. The IsDB should work with the GoMY for youth development to be mainstreamed across

all sectors;

iii. The IsDB should work with GoMY to reduce the high unemployment and NEET rates

among female youth;

iv. IsDB should provide technical support to assist the GoMY to implement SDG target 8b

(develop and operationalize a national strategy for youth employment, as a distinct strat-

egy or as part of a national employment strategy); and

v. IsDB should work with the GoMY to promote gender awareness across the youth sector.

91 Channel News Asia (2018), Malaysia Abolishes National Service Program, Civics Bureau https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/

malaysia-abolishes-national-service-programme-civics-bureau-10612398

92 Ibid

93 Ibid

94 Leaderonomics (ND), Youth, https://leaderonomics.org/ldryouth/

95 Ibid

96 Jireh’s Hope (2018), Kickstart Your 2018 ON A Note By Volunteering At these 8 Malaysian NGOs, https://www.jirehshope.com/posts/362

References

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