By Danial Dzulkifly
SHAH ALAM, March 27 — The Selangor State Youth Assembly 2024 will be physically held at the State Legislative Assembly building for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020.
The two-day sitting, hosting 56 youth state assemblymen representing each state seat, is scheduled for May 27 and May 28 and is open to eligible Malaysians aged 18 to 35.
Selangor State Legislative Assembly Speaker Lau Weng San said a notable improvement made to the programme this year is that any motion debated and passed in the State Youth Assembly could be pushed forward as a motion introduced in the State Legislative Assembly sitting and debated by any of the 56 elected representatives.
“The format of the youth state assembly will mirror exactly of the state assembly sitting. The notable improvement this year is that the motions introduced during the debate, once passed with a simple vote in the State Youth Assembly, would have the opportunity to be elevated and introduced as a motion in the state assembly.
“In terms of voting, there will be those who oppose and those who support the motion (rather than having a government or opposition bench),” he said during a press conference at Wisma Dewan Negeri Selangor today.
Bukit Gasing state assemblymen Rajiv Rishyakaran and Selangor Youth Council president Datuk Imran Tamrin were also present.
The Selangor Youth Assembly was first conducted by former speaker Hannah Yeoh, and was later overseen by Dato’ Ng Suee Lim during his tenure as speaker.
This time, Lau will chair the State Youth Assembly as a means to guide youths in the process of debating and passing state legislation.
“The main objective of this programme is to provide young people with the opportunity to gain experience in discussing motions similar to the actual State (Legislative) Assembly members within the premises of the Selangor State (Legislative) Assembly building itself, and to understand the legislative process, particularly at the state level.
“Participants will be able to propose and discuss motions that impact youths.
“Through this programme, participants will also have the opportunity to analyse public policies and government policies critically. They will also be allowed to interact and get to know the state assembly members better, thus bridging the gap between youths and elected representatives,” he said.
The application for the State Youth Assembly is open for a month, from April 3 to May 3, via the Selangor Youth Assembly’s social media platforms or the Selangor State Legislative Assembly’s official portal at dewan.selangor.gov.my.
The announcement of the selection results will be made on May 17 at 3pm.
