Caretaker Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Aziz has urged Malaysians aged 18 to 20 to vote and ensure the country's future.
"Voting is part of your civic duty because you are taking responsibility for your country's future. The stakes are high because the results will have an impact on future policy-making.
"The choice is yours. Would you choose policymakers who are responsive and responsible, while also taking a reformist approach, for the sake of your children?
"This GE will be a heated competition for your hearts and minds, so choose wisely as every vote matters."
He said this at the Youth Economic Forum 2022, themed "Charting a positive course for nation building with agility, resilience and impact".
Tengku Zafrul said the country must restore stability to bring back Malaysia's shine and appeal in the eyes of investors and international businesses.
"What better way to do this than to express ourselves through the ballot box?
"At the end of the day, regardless of the outcome, we must close ranks because we are all #TeamMalaysia, and Malaysia simply MUST win."
GE15 is the first general election in which the voting age is over 18 as opposed to over 21 previously.
A total of 1,393,549 voters aged between 18 and 20 will vote for the first time in GE15.
EMULATING ASIAN LEADERS
Tengku Zafrul said youths should take a cue from great Asian leaders in embracing service and leadership at a young age.
"For me, having had the opportunity to roll up my sleeves and fight in the trenches for Malaysia during the Covid-19 war has been a self-defining moment and worthwhile calling.
"As I have said before, you are the future of Malaysia. We will not prosper, nor will we survive, if our young remain passive and disengaged.
"I understand the recent years may have been frustrating and dispiriting, but that is the challenge that history throws our way. Adversity should be a call for hope and courage, rather than despair.
"Let us not forget that great Asian leaders of our time — like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru of India, Sukarno of Indonesia, Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, and even Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Abdul Razak of Malaysia — all started their activism young, and not necessarily in politics.
"But when their nation called, they answered, and they willingly stepped up and served."
Youth despondency and apathy were anathema to a nation's progress, he added.
"All of you sitting here have the power to change the fate of your community, society, country, and even the world.
"But you must come forward, and do so with determination and the desire to remain invested in this country's progress."
ECONOMIC PROGRESS
He shared the country's economic progress at the forum, pointing out that it was not all doom and gloom amid the global headwinds and challenges.
There were still many bright spots, he said, adding that Malaysia had enjoyed three consecutive quarters of economic growth since the fourth quarter of 2021, and in the second quarter of this year, the country grew by 8.9 per cent.
The unemployment rate in August this year was at 3.7 per cent, back to pre-pandemic levels, while the number of unemployed recorded a consistent month-to-month drop, which was good news for job seekers.
The World Bank has revised upward its 2022 growth forecast for Malaysia to 6.4 per cent compared with 5.5 per cent previously, while the International Monetary Fund's revised projection was at 5.4 per cent, up from 5.1 per cent previously, he said.
The government had also revised upward the 2022 growth forecast from 6.5 per cent to seven per cent in the recently tabled 2023 Budget, said Tengku Zafrul.
"The government remains committed to addressing our employment needs."
The 2022 Budget allocated RM4.8 billion through JaminKerja for job creation, reskilling and upskilling.
The Finance Ministry has also sought to create meaningful work with meaningful pay to support the rising cost of living.
In April this year, the government gazetted the increase in the minimum wage to RM1,500 to improve the standard of living.
In the 2023 Budget for youths, who represent 28 per cent of the population, the government has proposed measures, including an allocation of RM305 million in loans for youth entrepreneurs, as well as the extension of Skim Tekun Belia Mobilepreneur, which will continue to help youths in the last-mile delivery sector with an allocation of RM10 million.
The ePemula initiative has been continued with an allocation of RM400 million for youths between 18 and 20 and full-time students.
"Others include a discount of up to 20 per cent for the National Higher Education Fund Corporation's loan repayment and many more benefits, such as for property purchase for female entrepreneurs and women returning to the workforce." --Bernama