Enough talk! Get to work, PAS tells Khairy

Get working and reduce the burdens of the youth instead of just making empty, populist statements. This is the message sent to Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar by an opposition MP today.

Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz said the youths have already voiced out on the myriad of economic issues they face, including rising debts, unemployment, social malaise, property ownership, access to quality education and raising their self-worth. 

However, their problems have mostly fallen on deaf ears, Nik Abduh (left), the PAS parliamentarian for Pasir Mas, said in a statement.

"Why call for discussions after prices have been hiked? Is that the so-called fighting for the youth's welfare?" he asked.

First-term minister Khairy last week slammed the government for raising electricity rates, while deputy Umno Youth chief Khairul Azwan Harun this week protestedagainst the proposed highway toll hikes. 

Nik Abduh is sceptical that the government will implement any follow-up action on the complaints of the youths. 

He noted that even Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak merely revealed that as many as 68,300 youths were declared bankrupt from 2005 to 2012. And debates have been ongoing, in Parliament and in the Senate, since September on how to solve the country's problems.

"The youths are only hoping that they won't have to shoulder the government's mismanagement of the national economy. 

"I therefore urge the government to quickly take concrete steps to reduce the people's cost of living, before Jan 1, 2014. The subsidy restructuring and price hikes of goods and services will negatively impact the middle-income earners in the cities," the MP for Pasir Mas said.

All youth-targeted programmes should be reviewed for their efficiency and effectiveness in addressing the real problems before they are implemented, Nik Abduh added.