KUCHING: It is important to educate youths to ensure that in the future, the state and country will continue to be independent in all aspects, said Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
Karim who officiated at the Sarawak Youth Power Carnival 2019 today also presented the state-level National Youth Premier Awards 2019 held in conjunction with the carnival.
He stated in his speech that in order to build and develop the younger generation today in-line with the country’s standards, it demands great and hard-earned attention from all parties.
“The National Youth Premier Award which is held annually is the government’s way of giving appreciation and recognition for the youths’ contributions in various fields,” he said.
Karim added that he is confident that the Youth Premier Award is able to stimulate the spirit of volunteerism and shape a positive mindset among the youths.
He added, “The award also seeks to increase the involvement, new knowledge and technological innovation for the realisation of the youth development goals in-line with the Malaysian Youth Policy 2015.
“Apart from that, youths also need to understand and appreciate the government’s vision and mission, country and state development agendas and the government’s strategic approaches whether in the short, medium or long term,” he added.
The Sarawak government is always taking into account the interests and needs of youths in implementing various development policies and agendas.
He then called upon youths to strengthen their fighting spirit, self-identity, patriotism, sportsmanship, and volunteerism in activities organised by the government and continue to make contributions towards the building of the nation.
The champion for the National Youth Premier Award 2019 men’s category was awarded to Ahmad Qadri Basri with a cheque prize of RM3,000, a trophy and an award plaque while the runner up is Wan Azizan Wan Zainal Abidin with a cheque prize of RM1,500 and an award plaque.
For the women’s category, the champion Siti Aishah Najamudin brought home a cheque prize of RM3,000, a trophy and an award plaque.
As for the association’s category, the champion Muslim Youth Movement Malaysia Sarawak (ABIM) brought home a cheque prize of RM10,000, a trophy and an award plaque while runner up Mukah Youth Parliament Association brought home a cheque prize of RM5,000, a trophy and an award plaque.
The two-day carnival began yesterday until today (April 28) and featured activities such as a colouring competition for children aged 6 and below, entrepreneur booths, strongest man competition and many more.
