By Siti Nurain Ratini
KUCHING: Political analyst Professor Dr Novel Lyndon believes young voices should be heard in the Dewan Negara to complement young members of parliament in the Dewan Rakyat.
“I believe if this can be realised, to some extent it can raise the voices of young people with regard to their wants and needs in the face of economic development and the rapid industrialisation process in the country.
“At the same time, it provides opportunities and space for youths to voice their views on policies to be implemented,” he said when contacted by Suara Sarawak today (July 18).
According to Dr Lyndon, the participation of the youths is also important in the country’s economy which is shrinking as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic implications and political uncertainty at the international level, especially involving world powers.
He believes the voices of the young need to be given full attention to hear their grievances that need to be translated into policy and implementation.
Elaborating, Dr Lyndon said any political party that becomes government should try to be dynamic to ensure relevancy.
He said this would augur well with the demands and tastes of young people who are very dynamic, open-minded and intelligent in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
“Indeed, the government knows and is very sensitive about the open nature of youths compared to the older generation because they have easy access to information.
“Accessibility to the internet, information at your fingertips, the use of gadgets will definitely form youths who are well-informed and literate on current issues,” he said.
However, he expressed concern over whether the views of these youths will be given full attention.
“While among the MPs there are also youths, we are worried that there will be an issue where they are just spectators and not involved as players.
“Therefore, the combination of the voices of young people who are Members of Parliament in the Dewan Rakyat and who are Senators in the Dewan Negara would complement each other,” he added.
