PETALING JAYA: Every weekend, hundreds of young Malaysians turn up to plant trees, pack food baskets or take part in charity drives. But once the programme ends, many of them do not return.
For NGOs, the bigger challenge today is no longer recruiting young volunteers for a day – it is persuading them to stay for the long haul.
Across charities, environmental groups and emergency response organisations, leaders say long-term volunteers are becoming harder to find as young people juggle studies, careers, financial pressures and increasingly fast-paced lifestyles.
Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations chief executive officer Dr Saravanan Thambirajah said the issue is not a lack of compassion among young Malaysians, but a shift in how they choose to volunteer.
“Young people today prefer flexible, purpose-driven volunteering where they can clearly see the impact of their contributions.
“They are more likely to support specific projects or campaigns than commit to a single organisation for years,” he said.
Saravanan said the rapid growth of Malaysia’s civil society sector has also intensified competition, with more NGOs vying for the same pool of volunteers, donors and public attention.
Dapur Jalanan Kuala Lumpur coordinator M. Haziq Fikri said NGOs have generally been successful in attracting Gen Z and millennial volunteers, but reaching them has become a battle for attention on social media.
“The challenge is delivering the right message to the right audience. Social media is important, but NGOs also need stronger collaborations with other organisations and companies to keep volunteer programmes relevant,” he said.
Haziq warned that some NGOs have already been forced to discontinue programmes because they could no longer sustain volunteer support.
“When NGOs stop operating, vulnerable communities suffer because they lose the support they depend on.
Kechara Soup Kitchen marketing director Justin Cheah said transport remains a major obstacle, particularly for food distribution efforts that require volunteers to travel between locations.
He added that the rising cost of living has also forced many Malaysians to spend their free time earning extra income instead of volunteering.
“It is not that people care less. Many simply have less time because they are trying to make ends meet,” he said.
For environmental groups, the challenge begins even earlier.
Malaysian Ecological Association president Prof Dr Ahmad Ismail, who is also an adviser to the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), said fewer young people are stepping forward despite growing awareness of environmental issues.
“We do not have enough young ecologists in the country. NGOs need to be more creative and offer activities that appeal to young people,” he said.
Malaysian International Search and Rescue chairman K. Balasupramaniam said volunteerism has gradually weakened compared with the 1980s and 1990s, when people were more willing to serve without expecting anything in return.
“Some young adults are reluctant to join NGOs because they fear being associated with organisations that have hidden agendas, while others struggle to balance volunteering with work, studies and family responsibilities.
“If we fail to groom the next generation of volunteers, the impact will be felt most during disasters, when communities depend heavily on trained volunteers to respond quickly,” he said.
