Youth in Malaysia: A Review of the Youth Situation and National Policies and Programmes

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) initiated a project on capacity-building in HRD policy- making for youth in Asia and the Pacific in collaboration with Queen’s University, Canada, in August 1999. The project aimed to strengthen the capacity of governments to formulate and implement, in coordination with the non-governmental organization (NGO) and private sectors, national youth policies and programmes that address the human resources develop- ment (HRD) needs of young people in Asia and the Pacific. In focusing on the needs of youth in the region, the project supports the belief of ESCAP that there are three key issues in providing a voice for youth in society: access and benefit, ability to influence and equity. These three issues are ultimately the pillars of youth participation - to ensure the rights of all youth to have access to opportunities and to play an active role in all spheres of society. This includes all youth, girls and boys, young men and women, rural and urban youth, youth with special needs and marginalized youth. The project recognizes the critical need for youth concerns and issues to be understood and addressed. The best way to do so is to give youth a voice through facilitation of their active participation.