Alan Ling Sie Kiong
MIRI: Democratic Action Party (DAP) Piasau assemblyman Alan Ling Sie Kiong proposed that the Youth Parliament be democratic and not answerable to any political factions in the country.
Recently, the Prime Minister had spoken about the government’s plan to introduce a parliament for youths to understand their views, aspirations and ideas, and that the parliament would be elected by the youths themselves.
“The Youth Parliament is a good idea only if it is democratic, and not run by any political party or faction,” said Ling recently.
Ling questioned the purpose of forming the Youth Parliament, whether it was to defend the ruling government, or to uphold the system of democracy in the country.
“Putrajaya is not Barisan Nasional (BN)’s personal property — any party which wins mandate from the people can form the government in a democratic country,” said Ling, referring to PM’s appeal to the country’s youths to prevent Putrajaya, the nation’s administrative capital, from falling into opposition hands at a mammoth youth gathering.
As a young lawyer who recently wrested the Piasau state seat from the ruling BN incumbent in the recent April state election, Ling hoped that the government was sincere about getting youths to recognise their potential in running the country one day.
“If the government is sincere, they should address the issue of automatic voter registration to enable youths to exercise their basic rights of voting as citizens,” he said.
He also proposed that the University and University College Act 1971 be amended to allow for greater youth participation in the country’s political processes.
“The government can also provide more scholarships to youths on merit, if they are really serious about assisting youths,” he added.
The Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Senator Gan Ping Sieu was also reported to have said that the age limit of representatives to the proposed Youth Parliament in Malaysia will be between 20 and 25 which is in line with international standards, and that the parliament will be modeled after the Australian Youth Parliament which is done at state level, but that Malaysia planned to do it nationally.