PUTRAJAYA: Organising the Youth Day celebrations at a university will allow students to be more involved in youth organisations, said Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) will play host to this year’s National Youth Day main celebration on May 15, replacing usual venue Putrajaya.
Khairy said UPM event, also part of Rakan Muda’s ‘Jelajah Kampus’ programme, would also be organised at other campuses nationwide.
“We organised it in Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) on April 23. In May will be the UPM event, which is also the National Youth Day main celebration.
"After that it will be held at Taylor’s University in July, Melaka’s Multimedia University in August, Terengganu’s Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin in September and Universiti Utara Malaysia in October.
"We want youth organisations to get closer with university students so we can have more of them involved in youth activities.
"After all, students are the ones who will lead these youth bodies in the future,” said Khairy at the pre-launch of the National Youth Day 2016 celebrations.
Khairy said holding the event in Putrajaya would not be viable due to cost-cutting measures announced by the government.
"To organise another big festival in Putrajaya would require a huge allocation of funds. It is better for us to focus our resources on other places.
"However, this does not mean in the following years we cannot organise in Putrajaya again, as the youth festival is a good concept,” said Khairy.
Khairy said although the event would be organised at a smaller scale, it would not compromise on quality.
He said this is because in the run-up to the main event on May 15, there will be 140 side events held across the country organised by the state youth departments and the Malaysian Youth Council (MBM) - from May 9 to May 14.
"The quality will be just as good, if not better. We we split it to 140 small programmes, we are able to get more people involved from all over.
"When organising the Putrajaya Youth Festival, I always receive comments from youths that they want to be involved but they cannot make it to Putrajaya.
"They also want to experience it in their own districts or villages,” he said.
Khairy also proposed that this year’s Youth Day theme should be ‘The Future is Now’.
“Let’s not use ‘The Youth is our Future’, when the future is now. Because the youth are the present.
"This is the time we should recognise our youths and ensure that the country’s development today is moulded according to the youth’s needs,” said Khairy in his speech earlier.
Among the activities lined up for the National Youth Day celebration include the ‘Showcase of Talent’ event, the ‘Warna-Warni Belia’ event by MBM, and also the annual National Premier Youth Awards.
There will also be bazaars, food trucks, workshops as well as performances by local musicians Monoloque, OAG, Najwa Latif and Estranged.
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