Malaysian Youth Parliament Passes Motion To Hold Asean Youth Assembly

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 (Bernama) - The Malaysian Youth Parliament (MYP) Saturday passed a motion to hold the Asean Youth Assembly (AYA) to expand the role of youths in Asean countries. This decision was announced by MYP Speaker Shamsul Anuar Nasarah after he received more support for the motion than those against it. Winding up the motion, International Relations and Diplomatic Committee representative Dhanesh Basil (Melaka 05) said youths comprise 50 percent of the 650 million population in Asean. "This big number makes youths the backbone of the economy and have a major impact on the development of Asean countries," he added. Tabling the motion, International Relations and Diplomatic Committee representative Muhammad Nur Faruqi Ismail (Kedah 08), said Malaysia should take advantage of its appointment as Asean chairman this year. Dhanesh said the AYA would be brought to the Cabinet via the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and subsequently to the Asean Youth Senior Officials Meeting before tabled at the Asean Summit 2015. The motion received mixed response, including from Akmal Saufi Mohamed Khaled (Johor 01), who questioned the seriousness of the AYA. Mohd Fitri Che Ree (FT Kuala Lumpur 02) diagreed saying the AYA was a waste of money and wanted the youth programmes to be enhanced. However, Azwan Omar (Selangor 19), said the AYA was different from other youth programmes that were held on a 'one-off' basis. "The AYA will be held regularly. It has received the support and recognition of the Asean Youth Cooperation Committee (CAYC), the only entity mandated by the Asean secretariat to coordinate the youth agenda." -- BERNAMA