Tan Jia You, who is president of the UM Association of New Youth (Umany), told FMT that despite the manifesto’s attractive promises, he doubted that youths would be empowered.
“When it comes to empowering youths, we are unhappy that the BN government is still allowing the UUCA to exist as a tool to interfere in campuses,” he said.
“Numerous students have been charged with involvement in student activism.
“The student councils in public universities do not have the power to manage the campus or make any decisions regarding campus policies. This is unlike the situation before this act existed.”
The BN youth manifesto aims to empower youth associations.
It guarantees more jobs and training for graduates, together with an increase in wages.
The eight-point plan also proposes incentives for young couples who want to get married and start families, such as more affordable homes.
BN also aims to produce more young entrepreneurs in rural areas.
However, Tan said the manifesto appeared more like a show than anything else.
Questioning the logic of replacing Vision 2020 with the National Transformation 2050 even before reaching 2020, he asked if this was done because the earlier plan was considered a failure.
“What has BN done for youths over past years?
“What we need the most now are institutional reforms as the loss of checks and balances in the government is worrying. That is more important than just offering a manifesto.”
Youth activist Anis Syafiqah meanwhile said many of the things offered in the manifesto should have been achieved by now, adding that the government had failed to make use of the opportunity to do so.