Bringing meaning to self-identity of young generation after 67 years of independence

KUALA LUMPUR: August is a significant month for Malaysians as they celebrate National Day on Aug 31 and this year, the celebration is even more exciting as the country advances into the age of digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI).

Director of the Co-Curriculum and Student Development Centre, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Associate Prof Dr Mohd Mursyid Arshad said the agenda of fostering patriotism and self-identity among youths, as well as efforts to ensure the development of resilient human capital, should be pursued more comprehensively with the collaboration of all implementing agencies and stakeholders.

“Therefore, the new challenge in bringing meaning to independence is the development of youth competence, emphasizing the importance of upskilling and reskilling, apart from cross-skilling, which is also needed for multi-skilling in line with current needs, especially when dealing with an increasingly challenging global economic environment,” he said.

According to him, bringing meaning to independence through the empowerment of human capital among youth is also reflected in Budget 2024, with an allocation amounting to RM6.8 billion for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) next year.”

He said RM100 million was also allocated to provide industry-recognized professional certifications to TVET graduates and as an incentive for the industry to collaborate with public TVET institutions.

Mohd Mursyid said that the involvement of the younger generation in the employment sector is also strengthened through the MySTEP initiative, which offers opportunities to participate in skills improvement programs under the MyFutureJobs platform

“Empowerment for the younger generation does not stop with training alone as the MyFutureJobs initiative also matches them with jobs to build a career and earn a higher income,” he said.

He also said that to ensure the agenda of restoring, building, and re-catalysing a resilient local young workforce in this endemic era, training programs and training enhancements, such as those provided by HRD Corp, the National Dual Training System, the Gig Employment Insurance System (SIP), and the Job Guarantee Program by the Social Security Organization (Socso), should be used as effectively as possible.

He said that job opportunities with the potential to be developed specifically for youth are those oriented towards digitalisation, which indirectly allows young people not to depend solely on salaried jobs but on their ability to create jobs.

“Income generation through the gig economy presents significant potential in today’s digitized environment. Efforts to improve the branding of the 3D sector (dirty, dangerous, and difficult) need to be intensified, with competitive salaries offered to attract the local labor force, which was previously largely driven by foreign labor.”

“Therefore, the teaching and learning approaches, especially in institutions of higher learning, need to shift towards case study and problem-based learning, incorporating current challenges into lectures,” he said.

Apart from that, Mohd Mursyid said the involvement of youth in the agricultural sector is also essential to ensure the country’s food security and thus provide opportunities to generate income.

“For example, the Pertanian Untuk Rakyat (PUTRA) initiative by UPM also provides opportunities for the younger generation to venture into the agricultural sector including training, skills courses in the application of modern agriculture technology and guidance in the marketing of agricultural products.

“The involvement of the young generation in the agricultural sector will form a more resilient, skilled and entrepreneurial-minded identity,” he said.

In encouraging youths’ contributions to the country, Mohd Mursyid recommended increasing external support by encouraging more industry players, especially corporate companies, to provide training, experience, and job opportunities to youth and graduates.

At the same time, efforts to increase collaboration between higher learning institutions and industry players need to be done continuously so that the graduates produced match the needs of the industry, he said.

Mohd Mursyid said strengthening the identity of Malaysian youth is also important in bringing the meaning of independence.

Youth need to cultivate a culture of high integrity because strong values ​​of integrity highlight personal qualities such as honesty and trust, he said.

He said that appreciating and practicing high integrity also helps youth avoid negative behaviors such as slandering, using abusive language, engaging in uncivilized acts, bankruptcy, lying, breaking promises, betraying trust, deviating from principles, and bribery.

“Youth need to build their identity to maintain good manners and morals, while also avoiding greed and the desire for quick wealth, which can lead to corruption, abuse of power, and other unethical behaviors.

“The country needs skilled and expert youth who work with integrity,” he said.

Therefore, he said, concerted efforts to produce more resilient youth can help the younger generation support their identity, contribute to the country, and drive nation-building during the endemic phase.

This, in turn, can indirectly instill love for the country, he added.