Sarawak will stick to its youth age limit criteria

I have mentioned to our media friends that Sarawak will not be following the Federal government’s decision to lower the youth age limit from 40 to 30 starting the year 2026. The revision will affect the committee line-up in youth associations and the National Youth Council, as they cannot be older than 30 years old.

At this point in time, we will not be following the federal government’s decision (to lower the youth age limit). Sarawak can decide on the youth age limit at the state-level, and we have our own ways of deciding this. I was asked to comment on this matter during the press conference at the State Legislative Assembly in Petra Jaya, Kuching. I have pointed out that Sarawak had only recently reduced the youth age limit from 45 to 40, and I believed it will continue to be lowered in the future.

I have also cited the Sarawak United National Youth Organisation (SABERKAS), which practises a hybrid formula in the committee line-up whereby about 70% of its committee members are aged between 18 and 40. We allocate about 30 per cent of the committee to those above 40 years old.

This is because Sarawak believes the senior members can still guide the younger generation in better administrating and managing an association. With that said, I have mentioned our State government is determined in acknowledging the potential of the youth, as evidenced by the number of candidates aged below 40 who were fielded in the recent elections.

Recently the Federal Youth and Sports Minister, YB Hannah Yeoh had said the revision to the youth age limit with come into effect Jan 1, 2026, when the Youth Societies and Youth Development (Amendment) Act 2019 comes into force. Among others, the amendment will set the age limit of youth society office bearers to 18 to 30 years old.

My personal comments on Palestinian refugees issue

Matters concerning the acceptance of Palestinian refugees must first be decided by Malaysia's Federal Government and I had commented on this issue raised by activists and non-governmental organizations (NGO) heads who had expressed concern that radicals could enter the country if Sabah and Sarawak fail to exercise autonomy over their borders.
“There is no need to jump the gun. The federal government has yet to make a decision but there are already NGOs commenting. Who are you? Wait for the prime minister to announce the decision. Don’t jump the gun”. These were the response I have made to the local media who had requested my comments.
I have added that ministers should not be influenced by unreasonable NGO views and should instead follow existing protocols.
If the federal government has made a decision, then we can give our views. But since the federal government has not decided on this matter, there is no need to comment on what NGOs have said. Malaysia always sympathised with those who are victims of war, citing Vietnam and Bosnia-Herzegovina as examples. 

Sarawak Tourism Board enters Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Malaysia Airlines at WTM2023

Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) had recently entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with national carrier, Malaysia Airlines at the sidelines of the ongoing World Tourism Mart 2023 (WTM2023) in London, United Kingdom (UK).

This is a much welcomed strategic move by both parties and I am glad to have been invited to witness the symbolic signing ceremony held recently at WTM2023, ExCEL conference and convention centre in London. It is our hope for the MoU will pave the way for both STB and Malaysia Airlines to synergise and to collaborate in key areas for mutual benefits. 

Our appreciation to our partners from Malaysia Airlines for having agreed to the signing ceremony being held in conjunction with this year's WTM London and we look forward to the next step in forging better days ahead.

Great response to Sarawak Pavillion at World Tourism Mart 2023 in London, UK

The response towards our "Sarawak Pavillion" at the ongoing World Tourism Mart 2023 (WTM2023) in London, UK was just splendid. There were a lot of visitors coming to the pavillion including from delegates of other participating countries. 

One thing for sure, the Sarawak Pavillion was one of those which was colourful decorated and had showcased an array of exhibits that caught the attention of visitors. I have been in London the past few days together with delegation members from Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak (MTCP), Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) and other related parties. 

The WTM2023 is being held at Excel conference and convention centre in London and it is also participated by Tourism Malaysia together 49 tourism-related organizations of Malaysia. Our nation's delegation include tour operators, hotels, resort, state tourism agencies, tourism associations, airline company, tourism-related services providers and Malaysia Health Tourism Council (MHTC).

We appreciate the organising of WTM which had long served as a vital avenue to introduce Malaysia and Sarawak's tourism attractions to meet the demand as well as interest of the UK and European markets. The event is one of the suitable platforms for international tourism industry players to meet up and to plan their future strategies on global stage. 

For the record, the UK market had played an important role in Sarawak's tourism industry resurgence with impressive forms in which from January to September this year alone, there were 18,833 visitors from the United Kingdom. The growth rate of their arrival is approximately 216.7% and as such, this segment is impressive, as compared to the same period last year when we hosted 5,944 UK visitors. We are also optimistic based on current trends, there would be around 25,110 visitor arrivals from UK coming into Sarawak for 2023.

Update on drug abuse situation and offences in Sarawak from January to October 2023

A total of 9,198 arrests for drug offences have been recorded in Sarawak from January to October 2023. I have revealed this matter based on statistics from the police’s Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (JSJN), majority or 6,871 of the arrests were made following urine tests while 1,853 were for possession of drugs and 474 for supplying drugs. 

In terms of value of confiscated drugs, he said it was estimated to be more than RM137 million while the assets forfeited are valued at about RM5 million. The figures mentioned might look big, partly because our population is increasing.If you compare the 9,000 arrests to the 2.8 million population in Sarawak, it is very small. 

In terms of index of those involved in drugs throughout Malaysia, Sarawak is among the third lowest (in terms of numbers). Despite Sarawak being almost as big as the Peninsula and our borders are so porous be it from sea or land our index is still very low. I have informed our media friends during the press conference after chairing the Sarawak-level Anti Drug Action Council (MTMD) meeting recently. 

Even though there had been major arrests made, the drugs involved were not for local distribution because Sarawak is being used as transit for distribution to neighbouring countries. We do not need to be so alarmed but it is good to be conscious about that. 

Being the Sarawak chapter chairman of Malaysia Drugs Prevention Association (Pemadam), I have also mentioned two areas, namely Kampung Haji Baki in Kuching and Kampung Baru in Samarahan which were identified as high-risk areas this year for drug-related activities. As such, various activities are being held to ‘greenify’ the two areas. 

These areas have achieved green status based on the set indicators achieved. However, continuous efforts are being intensified so that this green status can be maintained through the collaboration of all parties through the strategies of prevention, enforcement and treatment programmes as well as recovery. 

Among them are preventing new addicts, maintaining the recovery rate, increasing the detection of drug addicts, increasing the cooperation and involvement of agencies and communities in blocking the entry of drugs. Also present at the press conference were National AntiDrug Agency (AADK) deputy director-general (Operations) Khairul Anuar Bachok, AADK Sarawak director Hemediee Ibrahim, and Director of Sarawak Public Communications Unit (Ukas), Samuel Simon.