More Asean-level Opportunities For Malaysian Youths

By Mohamed Maliki Mohamed Rapiee This is the first of two articles on the roles and potentials of Malaysian youths. The writer is the president of the Malaysian Youth Council (MYC). KUALA LUMPUR, May 14 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Youth Council (MYC) is willing to provide more opportunities for the nation's youths to play an important role at the Asean level. To this end, Malaysian youths need to develop the mindset that their achievements should not be limited within the country but extend to other nations as well. This writer is confident that Malaysian youths will be able to meet the challenges and grab the available opportunities to interact at a wider level, not only within Asean but also across the globe. This is based on the performance of Malaysian youth delegations sent to international forums and conferences by the Youth and Sports Ministry of Malaysia. Malaysia's young representatives certainly performed well at these events. Malaysians are well known for their humble nature, friendliness, maturity and approachability; in many situations, Malaysians were required to be the link between international communities from various backgrounds. These qualities are like a formula possessed by Malaysians, forming a vital ingredient that cements their relationship with their foreign counterparts. INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION This writer believes that we, as Malaysians, should be proud of our representatives who have gained the confidence of the international community. One such example is Melaka Chief Minister Mohd Ali Rustam, who has presided over the World Association of Youth (WAY) since 1993, till he relinquished the position two years ago. Now the mantle is being carried forward by the Tangga Batu Member of Parliament Idris Haron, who is also the chairman of the youth chapter of the 'Dunia Melayu Dunia Islam' (Malay Muslims World). The MYC Secretary-General Mohd Zaidi Aziz is now the Secretary-General of the Committee for Asean Youth Cooperation (CAYC). This writer went to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in April to attend the 2012 Asean Youth Forum. During the event, all 10 Asean member nations stated their commitment towards realising the objective of seeing Asean as one community by 2015. Malaysia's commitment was announced by Prime Minister Najib Razak during the Asean Summit, themed 'Asean: One Community, One Destiny,' held in Phnom Penh. Najib also stated that Asean needs to achieve the above objective by enhancing the capability and role of youths in the respective Southeast Asian nations. ASEAN COMMUNITY The summit in Cambodia also received certain proposals that Malaysia had been emphasising all along, such as the issue on drugs, the declaration of Asean as a drug-free region by 2015 and the working paper on the Global Movement of Moderates. The choice of Phnom Penh as the summit venue was particularly significant, in view of community development in the region. Even though Asean differs from the European Union, where a single currency and fiscal policies are in use, the grouping of Southeast Asian nations is intended to enhance the socio-economic and political future of the Asean community. It is hoped that the Asean countries will strongly focus on this goal, since 2015 is not very far away. Malaysians should be geared up to have greater interactions with their foreign counterparts in terms of language, commitment, capital and self-endurance. Malaysian youths should be more friendly and easy to interact with; they should strongly project the Malaysian sense of belonging, and not merely be known as Malaysian Malays, Malaysian Chinese or Malaysian Indians. CAMBODIA Cambodia's successful hosting of the 20th Asean Summit is proof of the commitment shown by a nation famed for its 'Angkor Wat' and its recovery from a 'dark history.' The global community still remembers the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge regime led by Pol Pot in 1975-1979. During those years, more than twomillion Cambodians were killed by the regime in its desire to remain in power. During that period, Cambodia became a poor, backward country. In early 1975, when the Khmer Rouge came to power, the Cambodian people were tricked into believing that the regime would bring new glory to the country, which had earlier received support from the United States and had also suffered during the conflict in Vietnam. Pol Pot managed to hoodwink the people by assuring them that the communists believed in social justice. YOUTHS At that time, Pol Pot received support from the country's youths, who were over-enthusiastic about seeing a change in their country's circumstances. However, the goodwill shown by the Khmer Rouge lasted only for three months, after which the regime finally unveiled its true face and character. Pol Pot's radical ideology claimed the lives of many Cambodians, and the young and the intellectuals bore the brunt of his cruel deeds. Nor did he spare the people who opposed him. Even today, we can see evidence of these acts of cruelty. Power can make a man 'insane, ruthless and cruel.' Pol Pot proved that in order to gain power, a man can hide behind a hideous mask and reveal his real character only after achieving his desires. Malaysian youths should learn from this; they should be ready to become the country's future leaders and support the nation's path to progress. -- BERNAMA