KANGAR: The Youth and Sports Ministry proposes to gather one million youth volunteers over a year from next month to help out during disasters and tackle social issues.
Youth and Sports director-general Borhan Dollah said a massive exercise would be launched next month to register these youths under the ‘I-Volunteers’ programme.
The programme was expected to be launched by Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, he told reporters here.
“The ‘I-Volunteers’ programme would merge the country’s existing 200,000 young volunteers aged between 15 and 25 and the youth volunteers whose maximum age is 40,” he said.
“It is the general belief that young people are reluctant to participate in voluntary activities but the truth is that they are clueless as to how they can contribute,” said Borhan, who has been in Perlis since yesterday to help flood victims in Kampung Repoh here.
He said the volunteers would also be exposed to disaster relief abroad through selected non-governmental organisations which would be the ministry’s partners in the programme.
In Kampung Repoh yesterday, Perlis Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Md Isa Sabu, Sena state assemblyman Abdul Jamil Saad and Borhan handed over flood relief aid to 350 victims. — Bernama