Undergraduates parliamentary session will be continued in future - DPM

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the maiden Undergraduates Parliamentary Session (UPS) held here, will be featured annually in the future.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the sitting period must also be extended to give more time for debates in the interest of the common good.

"I agree that the Undergraduates Parliamentary Session be held annually. Also, one day is not enough," Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, said at a dinner held in conjunction with the UPS here, Tuesday night.

He said he fully supported the UPS because it provided exposure to undergraduates on how Parliament functioned.

As future leaders, Muhyiddin said the experience they obtained in debating in the UPS would give them a fresh perspective on how the country was run.

He said the UPS was not something new as they were already in place in Britain, Sweden, Australia and other countries in Europe to serve as an educational platform to produce a new generation of leaders.

Muhyiddin described the inaugural UPS as 'very successful' and showed the potential of the participants, who he said would make great MPs in future.

"In fact, many education-related matters were debated. I am sure there have been some very good suggestions. They will be forwarded to me, I can assure you they will be given special attention," he said.

Muhyiddin also said in future UPS, ministers or deputy ministers would be involved in the winding up sessions.

Some 200 undergraduates from 19 public institutions of higher learning took part in the UPS at Parliament House today.

It was organised by the Malaysian Council of Former Elected Representatives (Mubarak) in collaboration with the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and the Education Ministry.

At the event, Muhyiddin also presented an award to the best debater, Nur Ezzah Abdullah, from IIUM.

Nur Ezzah, when met by reporters, said the sitting was a golden opportunity for students to give their views through the proper medium.

As winner of the first sitting, she said students need to be aware of current events in the country and abroad, and not to rely solely on their text books to enrich their knowledge.