RSOG Policy Discourse Series
YouthQuake!
with
YB Steven Sim Chee Keong
When: 8 August 2019
Where: Razak School of Government
Guest Speaker: YB Steven Sim Chee Keong
The framework of the Session
In 2017, youthquake was crowned U.K. word of the year. Coined in 1965, the term means a noticeable shift in society or culture due to activities of the younger members of the culture. Closer to our shores, a newspaper had a weekly segment with the same title focused on the young, spanning over half a decade in the late 90s. Currently, debates are strife on the proposed lowering of voting age to 18, signalling the desire by the government for the young to engage in their democratic right. In the coming future, almost 1 in 6 of this nation’s population will be the elderly, with the younger generation shouldering more of the responsibility. Therefore, a lot is expected from the young. The government must have had the foresight on the importance of the youth to the nation, forming a ministry dedicated to the young since the 1960s, and initiating a national youth policy in 1997. After all, the saying “kalau hendak melentur buluh, biarlah dari rebungnya” illustrates how impactful changes can be if lessons are imparted at an early stage. What does Putrajaya have in store for the young in the coming years? In what ways can young Malaysians best contribute to the country? What could pose as barriers limiting the ideals of the youth? These are some of the key areas of concern that the guest speaker will share during the programme.
Key Takeaways from the Session
A contemporary writer once proclaimed that the danger of this age is the sense of irrelevance. As the world steps towards advancements, it benefits some segments of the population and those who do not feel the benefit may sense that they are becoming less powerful, less relevant in such transitional times. The Guest Speaker shared his concerns about the fear of irrelevance by the youth, outlined government’s interventions, and sparked some of his belief and hope of the young before an audience at Razak School of Government on 8 August 2019.
As part of the government administration, the Guest Speaker looked back to 1991 when the oft-quoted Vision 2020 was spelt out. Then, it created images of flying cars and futuristic skyscrapers towards becoming a fully developed nation. Almost three decades on, he highlighted that some challenges remain to be addressed and it includes racial relations, education, and concerns on people’s economy. Therefore, the Guest Speaker sees the change of government after 62 years provided the opportunity to address some of the challenges. He highlighted the improvement in the media freedom index, increasing number of women in decision-making positions, the number of young parliamentarians in the legislative branch, and the vision towards shared prosperity – ensuring equity among states and gender, among others, as some of the indicators of how the nation may be moving through the right direction.
As for what it means for the young, the 2015 National Youth Policy was about making sense of how our youth compares globally. This was done through streamlining youth measurement and ensuring that the youth can compete fairly among themselves and do not need to contest for resources with other age groups. The drive towards Undi18 was not only to keep up with the worldwide standards but was an opportunity for the mainstream democratic process as it increases the number of segments of society to be part of electoral process. The sense of inclusivity of the youth helps build a new Malaysia and ensuring shared prosperity and good governance.
An admirer of Hang Tuah, the Guest Speaker used examples of the folklore to view youth from the lens of a leader. He sees the Malay hero as quintessential young blood who is dynamic, open to challenges, hungry for mastery and can collect wisdom from what is experienced and learned from the surroundings. The Guest Speaker acknowledges the climate of cynicism on the youth and by the youth. This is understandable in times of transition and when information is in abundance. It necessitates one to process information into opinions and views through orderly manner of exchanges and based on civility. Therefore, the lost art of disagreement was also highlighted as the Guest Speaker believes that agreement is the basis of being part of a community and disagreement is the basis of one’s individuality. In order to disagree, one needs to understand, empathise, and allow the possibility of being persuaded to the opposing idea. Disciplining oneself to be open to contestation of ideas yet being true to oneself is part and process of self-growth. The Guest Speaker firmly believes that the best scientific minds cannot flourish in a fascist society and the youth must safeguard the future in this democratic space.
Youth is synonymous to being imaginative, energetic, ambitious and exploratory since the olden days. The guest speaker is in the opinion that if the youth is mobilised in the right way, and in ways that they feel inclusive in, it can further build the nation. In a changing era, what needs to be done is to provide space for the youth, especially in prime time of the mainstream media, as they have been creative in expressing themselves in social and alternative media. Some indication of democratising opportunities of decision-making by the government can be construed through the lowering of voting age. Nevertheless, there remains the need to further educate, not merely on information dissemination, but on the processes in shaping opinions, providing the room for imagination, and creating a sense of responsibility in the young. This is the duty of everyone.
Key issues raised
- When one becomes part of any organisation, one must embrace the spirit of the organisation’s purpose of being, not solely inheriting the structure alone.
- As resources shrink and competition increases, there is a need for clarity in finding meaning and see challenges as an opportunity to recharge and rejuvenate.
- The youth are more drawn to high-impact, quick messaging such as TikTok, therefore, policymakers may want to create content in such medium.
About the Speaker
YB Steven Sim Chee Keong is currently the Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports Malaysia. He is the Member of Parliament for Bukit Mertajam and was formerly a local government councillor of Seberang Perai Municipal Council. He was also formerly the executive secretary to the Network of Social Democracy in Asia, a regional dialogue of political parties, scholars, and NGOs of the social democratic persuasion. In 2012, he was named a Young Global Leader at the Geneva-based World Economic Forum. He is also the author of “The Audacity to Think: An Invitation to Rethink Politics” and “Being Malaysia”.