Budget 2027: Jobs, Economy Among Youth Priorities – Mordi

KANGAR, Sept 19 (Bernama) -- Job opportunities, the economy, youth leadership and sports facilities are among the issues raised by youth nationwide, who hope the government will focus on them in Budget 2027.

Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Mordi Bimol said the issues were raised during the Jelajah Kita Dengar: MADANI Youth Budget Engagement Session programme, which has so far been held in three zones, namely the Northern Zone on Aug 28, East Coast Zone on Sept 4 and Central Zone on Sept 5.

He said the tour would continue at three more locations, namely Sabah tomorrow, the Southern Zone on Sept 24 and Sarawak on Sept 27.

"For this budget tour session, I will personally travel to Sabah tomorrow to engage with the youth there to gather information on what they want in this budget.

"We have six tour locations in total and based on the three locations covered so far, those are the matters the people want us to care about and pay attention to," he told reporters after a town hall session in conjunction with the 2026 state-level Grassroots Youth Inspiration Tour (KIBAR) programme at Dewan 2020 here today.

Mordi said a resolution in the form of a youth proposal memorandum is expected to be prepared after the tour programme is completed at all six locations, before being handed over by Youth and Sports Minister Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johari to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during the Career Carnival on Oct 3.

Meanwhile, he said the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS), through Rakan Muda, has various programmes that can help address mental health issues among youth by encouraging them to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

"It does not address it directly, but we have programmes to maintain a healthy lifestyle among the youth, to help provide opportunities and space for them to be active in daily activities so they are not stressed," he said.

In a statement, KBS said KIBAR was formulated through a fresher, more inclusive and high-impact approach to empower and strengthen grassroots youth, especially unaffiliated youth.

"The organisation of KIBAR is currently actively taking place nationwide with a total of 17 series. This approach is to ensure comprehensive programme outreach, including in rural and interior areas," the ministry said.

KBS also hopes KIBAR will serve as a catalyst for a progressive, inclusive and resilient youth development movement for the country's future, in line with the 2030 MADANI Youth Development Model, the 2035 Malaysian Youth Development Action Plan and the Malaysia MADANI framework.

-- BERNAMA