Radicalism of youths worrying, says DPM

The involvement of youths in radicalism currently was worrisome, said Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Acording to him, 80 percent of the arrests the police had made as of Sept 20 last year involved those under the age of 40.

He said a comprehensive study conducted by the Malaysian Institute for Research in Youth Development had identified the tendency of youth being involved and their support for militant activities by the Islamic State.

"The study has taken into consideration the demographic and psychological profiles and mapped the factors which leads youth in Malaysia to be attracted into joining IS," he said in a statement issued after the Cabinet Committee meeting on Youth Development Series 5, today.

Ahmad Zahid had chaired the two-hour meeting which also focused on the threats faced by new millennials, as well as efforts to strengthen youth identity.

- Bernama