Young leaders in cabinet reflects current political landscape - Academician

Young voters had substantially influenced the outcome of the 13th general election which was won by Barisan Nasional (BN), and analysts think this must be reflected by greater participation of young leaders in the new cabinet. They said the move to appoint young leaders as state chief administrators like Datuk Mukhriz Tun Mahathir in Kedah, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin in Johor and Datuk Idris Haron in Melaka indicated that the BN government realised the new reality it had to face in the national political landscape. They also argued on the need for the young leaders to have traits like being proactive, creative and constructive if they were picked to head a ministry. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Centre for Technology Policy and International Studies director, Prof Dr Azmi Hassan said young leaders who were elevated to ministers must be able to communicate effectively, especially in the cyber world. "Furthermore, ministries which involve young people, such as the Youth and Sports Ministry, need ministers capable of dealing with the demands and inclinations of the young generation," he said. Azmi said the government must also consider placing a young minister in the ministry involving communication to disseminate valid information and to ward off falsehood and baseless accusations, especially on the Internet. The current problem was that the young found it easy to believe unconfirmed information spread through the Internet compared to that channelled via the mainstream media, said Azmi, stressing that this must be given serious attention. Universiti Sains Malaysia political science senior lecturer, Dr Sivamurugam Pandian suggested that the government create a Unity and Citizenship Ministry helmed by young leaders towards ensuring peace and the spirit of consensus in a multi-racial society. "When we place a young person, we will see a different result which is in line with the thinking of the young generation because they (young leaders) understand the ways and needs of the young," he added.