Dato Gerald Rentap Jabu
KUCHING (Nov 22): The Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneur Development will continue using strategic partnerships with Saberkas and other youth associations to sharpen leadership skills among youths in Sarawak, said Datuk Gerald Rentap Jabu.
The Deputy Minister of Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneur Development said while there are no plans to set up a Sarawak Youth Council, there are programmes to strengthen the development of human capital among the youth of Sarawak such as Program Integrasi Belia Sarawak in Johor and Sabah, Jelajah Belia Sarawak, and Kem Kepimpinan Belia.
“The ministry has also collaborated with Urbannice Malaysia to implement the Youth Assembly Malaysia Urban Forum 2023 as an effort to unearth youth leadership talent,” he said when responding to Royston Valentine (GPS-Tellian) during the question-and-answer session in the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) today.
On new initiatives for fostering unity among youth in Sarawak, Sabah, and Peninsular Malaysia aligned with the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), Rentap cited the Sarawak Johor Sabah (SJS) Youth Exchange 2023.
“This programme involved 45 youth leaders from the three states, contributing to leadership development and fostering unity.
“We believe these programmes are crucial in honing leadership skills among the youth while promoting a spirit of unity,” he said in reply to Royston’s supplementary question.
Looking ahead, Rentap said next year there will be an international initiative, the Borneo Youth Summit, involving youths from Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia.
On youth development programmes in Tellian, Rentap said there would be continuous collaboration with non-governmental organisations to enhance skills and leadership among Sarawak’s youths.
He said notable programmes this year for Mukah Division, which includes Tellian, are Program Belia Kasih Ramadhan on April 12; Leadership and Organisational Management Course on June 7-8; Youth Got Skills @ Mukah on June 17-18; and Mysed Go University on Dec 9-10.