Malaysian Youth and 2018 Budget

THE YOUTH AND 2018 BUDGET

Young people are social actors of change and progress. They are a crucial segment of a nation's development. In general, it is seen that all citizens have to be included in building or developing a nation. Thus, the involvement of youth in national development is a must because they play one of the most important roles in nation building. According to recent report on population in Malaysia, the working population nearly captured more than 60% of overall population. Youth literacy rates are 98.34% and 98.5% for males and females accordingly. The overall youth literacy rate is 98.42%. Youth literacy rate definition covers the population between the ages of 15 to 24 years.

Several initiatives by the government have been laid out in the proposed 2018 budget in accordance with the youth assessment. These are designed to aid people, especially the young generation of Malaysia in generating income. Few examples are:

1) eRezeki, eUsahawan dan eLadang programme (RM100m)

2) Easy loans for Food Truck 1Malaysia (FT1M) through Bank Rakyat with interest rate of 2% (RM120m)

3) 1AZAM Programme to increase revenue (RM60m)

4) Construction of new UTC, Blue Ocean Entrepreneur Township, Mobile CTC, Entrepreneurship programme, Global Entrepreneurship Community as well as inclusive and vibrant Social Entrepreneurs (RM300) as part of National Blue Ocean Shift (NBOS) initiative

5) Various Bumiputera entrepreneurship enhancement programmes (i.e., PUNB Entrepreneurship and Business Premise Programme (RM200m))

6) Promoting job opportunities in 5 main corridors including

I. Southern Perak

II. Bukit Kayu Hitam Duty Free Zone