Syed Saddiq to seek audience with Johor palace on youth age cap issue

KUALA LUMPUR: Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (pic) says he would be seeking an audience with the Johor Ruler to provide an explanation over the age cap for youths.

"I have actually written to the Palace many times seeking for an audience to discuss certain issues.

"He is my Sultan, so it will be my duty to explain if there are any concerns from him," he said at the Parliament lobby on Wednesday (July 10).

Meanwhile, Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that he acknowledged that the Johor royalty had given its views on the issue and added that the state government should be given the space to carry out policies.

"That is why I'm asking the Mentri Besar and state exco to meet and explain this to the palace. Hopefully, the palace will not interfere.

"They can give their views but it's best if national policies can be uniform across all states," said Muhyiddin.

Muhyiddin also said that he was perplexed that the age cap for youths had became an issue despite being deliberated at length in Parliament, adding that all Johor lawmakers had voiced their support for the government's stance on the issue.

On Monday (July 8), Johor had announced it would maintain its categorisation of youth for its polices as those between 15 and 40 despite the Federal Government's move to lower the age limit to 30.

Johor, at the time, joined Selangor and Sarawak in maintaining the youth age cap at 40.

On Tuesday (July 9), the Johor government changed its stand to lower the youth age limit to 30.

Less than 24 hours later, state Youth, Sports, Entrepreneurship Development and Cooperatives Committee chairman Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali issued another statement on the same day, saying Johor would maintain its youth age limit at 40 following "advice from several parties".

On the same day, Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim uploaded a picture of him with Sheikh Umar and Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Dr Sahruddin Jamal.