Transformational National 2050: Youth Aspirations and Future of Malaysia

JUFITRI JOHA
Vice President
Malaysia Youth Council (MBM) &
TN 50 Youth Ambassador
3 July 2017 / 9 Syawal 1438 H
2:30pm – 5:30pm
Pusat Alumni Universiti Malaya (PAUM)

Transformational National 2050 (TN50) is seen as an important policy document for the future and in coherent with the previous policy of New Economic Policy (DEB) and Vision 2020. It was an evolution from a poor country to a great nation. Based on my experience as TN50 ambassador in handling a series of dialogue sessions with youth leader and youth at the grass root level, I found that youth in general, accept the policy in a positive manner. They have contributed in sharing their aspirations excitedly. Nonetheless, they should be guided with futuristic thinking skills as they may have limited of experience, and their thinking horizon is restricted. In this regard, through dialogue, we guided them to learn from the past and reading critically the current trends in order to predict the future. We told them the best way to predict the future is to create it.

It is undeniable to say apart from positive acceptance, there are numbers of youth who are sceptical of this policy by offering negative and sensitive views based on various political and current issues. In my opinion, these views should be welcomed, and commended. Youth wanted their voice to be heard, their issues to be solved, and they should be given important roles. These are three basic demands of the youth. Apart from that, national top leaders should be brave enough to listen and understand youth aspirations in critical form, if the leaders genuinely want to hear and welcome youth aspirations otherwise it will be a setback to the government. Let them express their aspiration freely, without fear or favour and do not planted.

In the era of government no longer knows everything, TN 50 provides the youth platform to express themselves so that it will definitely give a sense of self-belonging to the policy. Many youth before came to me and post their grievances that nobody want to listen to their ideas and aspirations however TN 50 dialogue really gives them chance to be heard. Uniquely invited speakers and panellists from politicians, academicians and youth leaders during TN 50 dialogue has been asked to speak only 10 minutes in the beginning and the rest they were compelled to listen carefully to the aspirations. This is really breaking the conventional tradition before.

When I was asked in a NX Digital Online TV interview, whether politicians particularly from the ruling party will manipulate this policy for their political interest, I answered, this time around, this policy is unique since it implemented bottom up approach. Thus youth and fellow Malaysians themselves will ensure the check and balance in the effort for this policy to be successfully implemented without negative manipulations.

MBM is representing 39 main youth affiliated bodies, and has been actively conveying the voice of youth to the top level especially in the process of policy planning and implementation. This effort includes the main policy for youth development which is Malaysian Youth Policy (DBM) for 2015-2035. MBM also involved in various platform of policy planning and implementation such as National Social Council (MSN), National Consultative Committee on Political Financing (JKNMPP) and involved in annual National Budget Consultation sessions. In short the government recognize and gives the space for MBM besides two other platforms namely National Consultative Youth Council (MPBN) chaired by Minister of Youth and Youth Parliament chaired by Deputy Speaker of Dewan Rakyat.

MBM is actively involved in CSO-SDG Alliance by incorporating various opinions for the wellbeing of Malaysians. It is one of the serious commitments in ensuring the nation’s sustainable development agenda. Hence, MBM deliberately created a special bureau SDG under this tenure of President Mua’amar Ghadafi. Even before the launching of TN50 and since 2015, MBM has actively involved in the discussion about the future of Malaysia and international societies. We have discussed the futurist ideas such as James Canton, Alvin Toffler, John Naisbitt and Sohail Inayatullah. James Canton strongly emphasised the importance to prepare young people that have the spirit of future smart youth and not future frustrated youth. We organize book review on The World in 2050 Four Forces Shaping Civilization’s Northern Future written by Professor Laurence C. Smith and 2050: Being Human in the Future written by Jay Wheeler just to learn the future prediction tool.

MBM is the official voice of youth at national level as indicated in Youth Societies and Youth Development Act 2007 or known as 668 Act. Thus, MBM is responsible to assist Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) as the host for TN50 Secretariat, in collecting as mush aspiration as possible. In previous National Youth Consultative Council meeting, the council agreed to intensify the effort to exchange ideas with young people. We have set the target to hold discussions with more than 1 million young people. Up to this point, we have reached out to a million youth, even though it is quite impossible to reach out to all 14.34 million youth (2015), to be exact 7.52 million male and 6.82 million female. We will continue working to gather the aspirations of youth through focused dialogues sessions. These sessions will be different from the general TN50 road tours. The dialogues will be held in focus group approach targeting diverse groups of young teachers, young people from minority groups such as the indigenous youth, and inter faith youth. In addition to that, the appointed 22 TN50 youth ambassador are coming from different background and expertise. Among popular aspirations emerged during the dialogue that I joined are free education, leaving environment, peaceful and multi ethnic country.

At to this point, all aspirations are gathered and coded to 5 main pillars; Society, Governance, Living & Wellbeing, Lifestyle and Work & Value Creation. Each pillar is assigned with specific group of thinker or circle. Each circle consists of appointed youth and adults whom are the experts in the assigned pillars, to discuss deeper and debate on the coded aspirations. It is clear here that young people are empowered, along with the guidance of adult experts through the process of mentoring. In youth work and youth development world, youth-adult partnerships are crucial to ensure thriving youth. It is also in accordance with the essence of Roger Hart’s Ladder of Participation’ highest rung where youth and adults are working together in decision making for nation’s development. Not like before whereby young people are manipulated, decorations and tokenized.

My role specifically focused to manage the Circle Islam in 2050 under the Society pillar. Thus Secretariat TN50 and I were ensuring youths and the mentors are representing diverse school of thoughts and standpoints. Nonetheless we agreed to not bring in the youth and mentors that representing extreme thoughts, because the discussion will divert towards more self-contained agenda that will lead to destructions. We agreed to adopt moderate and inclusive view. Even we are aiming to bring in non-Muslims in this Circle as Islam has been discussed broadly and openly in democratic spaces. We are a state without nation or a state with several competing nations as according to Rustam A.Sani. Therefore, to build a great nation, unity among Muslim, the non Muslim and all races is important to ensure a peace and prosperous country. This is the characteristics of a strong Malaysia that we dreamt of. Apart from the Role of Islam in an multi-ethnic society, within the Pillar of Society we also discuss about Malaysian identity, societal values, equity across key segments, social safety net and values as an advanced nation.

Finally, just to illustrate the future of Malaysia, I quote from our vision statement of Circle of Islam in 2050 moderated by me. “In 2050, we expect that Malaysia continues to be a peaceful and plural nation: multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious just like Andalusian La Convivencia (The Coexistence) model in Islamic Spain whereby Muslim and non-Muslim living and building nation together with relative peace. Islam, being a moderate and humanist religion, promotes universal Malaysian and eastern values which transcend religions, races and cultures. Malaysian Muslims seek knowledge, and along with it, dignity, humility and tranquility. Like other Malaysians, values of openness and respect are engrained in our character - Islamic teachings and ‘good character’ behaviors are instilled from young”.

I am hopeful that these efforts that we have put into will benefit and penetrated into each layers of our society.

Thank you.

This speech was delivered during:

Development Policy Discussion
Navigating through Vision 2020, SDG 2030 & Transformational National 2050
Aspirations, Achievements & Apprehensions in Development Policy Formulation & Execution

Organized by 1. Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute (ASLI) - Centre for Public Policy Studies
2. Civil Society Organisations Sustainable Development Goal (CSO-SDG) Alliance