Youths called on to close generation gap

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KUCHING: Sarawak’s youths have been advised to close the generation gap if they want to acquire the proven wisdom of older people.

FOR THE ALBUM: Taib, Ragad, Mawan (seventh left) and Sng (fourth left) posing for a group photo with the youth icons. – Photos by Tan Song Wei

PLEASED TO MEET YOU: Youth Assembly participants greet Taib (centre) upon his arrival. — Photo by Jeffery Mostapa

SOUVENIR: Taib and Ragad admiring a memento presented to them as Mawan (right) and Sng look on.

Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, who gave this advice yesterday, noted that peer influence among young people was seven times greater than
the influence of their parents.

“Sometimes, conflicts will occur between generations. Try to avoid the generation gap from getting too wide because when this happens, you break the link between the wisdom of old that has been tested and can guide you.

“However, all must understand that the development of youths is in their own hands and not so much in the hands of the previous generation,” he told the Youth Assembly 2011.

Taib pointed out that youths must not lose their identity and foundation as they face challenges of new influences such as the development of information technology.

He said they must be cautious of their undertakings given that the continued progress of the nation depended on their innovation and capabilities.

“In this age of fast communication, changes and reactions, we have to cope with the changing speed of life without losing our identity, our foundation and our anchor in facing the future.”

Taib said he was glad the Ministry of Social Development and Urbanisation had taken the necessary measures to prepare youths for the future.

The youth assembly, he said, offered a platform for youths to understand that they could not live in isolation, while learning to preserve cohesion among those in their own age group.

“I welcome the effort of the ministry to get our youths to prepare themselves so that they will not make too many mistakes but will benefit more from the changes that the world is bringing forth to us for better prosperity, greater freedom and many more new things to improve our lives.

“They, young people, can come together to test what is more suitable for them. This is the main thing we have to be conscious of,” he added.

The Chief Minister stressed that nurturing leadership skills among the youths is key to steering the country towards achieving developed nation status.

Young people must keep abreast of global changes and development in the state or they might not be able to preserve a healthy society, said Taib.

He called on youths to be aware that the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) would require 50 per cent of skilled labour, which would drive the state to become a high-income society.

“Hence, the pressure of success is so much on us and we must come together to develop youths of various talents,” he said.

He advised youths to be active in forums or other youth-related activities that enabled them to understand one another and more importantly their inner selves.

“Understanding each other is a critical phase to understand yourself. If you do not understand your friends and who you are dealing with, you are not going to be able to understand your inner self.

“Try to understand your inner self and success will be yours, I can guarantee you that,” he said.

Thousands of young people took part in the Youth Assembly 2011.