Youth parliament needs Cabinet approval

The proposed Malaysian youth parliament needs cabinet approval before it can be set up, said Youth and Sports Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek.

He said the proposal which was made at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Youth Development might also entail certain things like amending the Youth Development Act.

“The proposed Malaysian youth parliament is based on the models used by some countries which already each have a youth parliament,” he said when met at the first meeting of the 28th session of the Youth Consultative Council, today.

Earlier, the director of the Socio-Economic Section of the Youth Development Division, Youth and Sports Department, Mohd Nor Md Said in his paper presented at the meeting, said the proposed Malaysian youth parliament was aimed at training and producing capable leaders.

According to his concept paper, the selected membership should be 306 and aged 18 to 30.

The composition should be one youth representative for each parliamentary constituency (222 reps), Malaysian Youth Council and youth associations’ representatives (69), undergraduates of higher learning institutions (10) and representatives of non-governmental organisations (5).

The concept is based on that of the Australian Youth Parliament which was established in 1963 and holds its meetings twice a year at the Parliament building.

– Bernama