Youth Play Important Role in Ensuring Government's Transformation Programmes Attainable: PM

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 (Bernama) -- Najib Razak said effort must be made to ensure youth too play an important role in helping the government achieve the goals of the National Transformation Policy. The prime minister said the effort should not be limited to the process of engagement with youth, but also giving youth access to quality education to enable them to realise their maximum potential and to empower them by creating more opportunities. Najib said this in his speecah at the 'Malaysian Chinese Youth Dialogue with the Prime Minister' held at Universiti Malaya's Tunku Canselor Hall, here, Sunday. He said today's youth were quite different from those of the 1960s and early 1970s, where the latter had demanded ideological change. "But today's youth do not want ideological change, but they change and reforms that will empower them to realise their full potential as individuals. "Based on this reality, we are doing our level best to provide more and more opportunities for youth from all races to advance and for them to realise their full potential." Touching on the free flow of information, Najib said there was a need for youth to develop critical thinking and the ability to distinguish which were true, half true, hearsay or false information. "This is one the hardest challenges being faced, not only for youth in Malaysia but worldwide," he said. Najib said what was necessary was to create critical-thinking youth able to decide between right and wrong, between truth and false, and between half truth and hearsay, especially in cyber space through the Internet and social media. The dialogue, organised by eight Chinese youth associations, was attended by over 2,000 Chinese youths from throughout the country. Najib also answered eight questions from the participants on various issues including politics and the interests of the Chinese community. Also present were Youth and Sports Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dr Koh Tsu Koon and MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek. -- BERNAMA