Govt to study impact of Johor’s decision to retain youth age
Published on: Thursday, July 11, 2019
By: Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (pic) said Wednesday the Government will study the impact of the Johor Government’s decision to retain the youth age cap of 40 years when the Dewan Rakyat has passed a Bill to reduce it to 30.
“We want to look into the impact of the (State Government) action and why it has done so. We do not know the details of the action of the Johor Government,” he said.
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Johor Youth, Sports, Entrepreneurship Development and Cooperatives Committee Chairman Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali said on Tuesday that the State Government has retained the youth age cap at 40 until the amended Youth Societies and Youth Development Act 2007 is gazetted in 2021.
The Dewan Rakyat, on July 3, passed the Youth Societies and Youth Development (Amendment) Bill 2019 which, among others, lowers the youth age cap from 40 to 30.
Asked about the appointment of former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as the chairman of the Barisan Nasional (BN) Advisory Board, Dr Mahathir said that matter is up to the opposition party. “They want Najib back, it’s up to them. That’s a BN affair, you have to ask the BN,” he said.
On a media report on the appointment of alleged transgender Rania Zara Medina as a committee member in the Country Coordinating Mechanism under the Health Ministry, Dr Mahathir said he has not verified the matter.
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“Transgender? Have you examined her? I do not know whether she is a transgender because I have not met her,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Johor state government has been urged to reconsider its decision. Home Minister and Pagoh MP, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, said he was puzzled by the decision despite the discussion on the definition of youth being carried out at the Dewan Rakyat, which saw the consent of all members of the parliament, including from Johor.
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“I read in the newspaper that the instruction came from the palace and that, I do not know whether it is right or not. Therefore, I urge the Menteri Besar and the state executive council to carefully consider, go to the palace and explain,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby Wednesday.
He said it was imperative that the state government implemented a uniform policy with the federal government.
“In future, there will be confusion, when in Johor (youth) is up to 40 years old, outside Johor, 30 years, and will have various consequences,” he said.
He said the lowering in age limit in the definition of youth from 40 to 30 years indicated that the government recognised the roles of young people, especially in terms of leadership.
On Tuesday, state Youth, Sports, Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Committee chairman Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali said the Johor state government would maintain its state youth age limit of 40 years, until the amendment of the Youth Societies and Youth Development Act 2007 came into force in 2021.
On July 3, the Dewan Rakyat passed the Youth and Youth Development (Amendment) Bill 2019, which reduced the age limit in the definition of youth from 40 to 30 years.
Meanwhile, Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said the state government’s actions would be raised in the Cabinet meeting for further action.
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