Zahid agrees to appoint Orang Asli youth leader as senator

 

A youth leader from the Orang Asli community will be appointed as a senator in the future, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

Zahid, who is also Rural and Regional Development Minister, said he agreed with the suggestion made by the Malaysian Orang Asli Youth Council (MOAYC) president Clive Allen Williams Hunt during the Rentas Desa Sejahtera Orang Asli Youth Carnival (K-Boards 2.0) yesterday to appoint a senator from the Orang Asli youth to represent their community.

"Insya Allah, in the future we will appoint (a senator) from the Orang Asli youth,” he said when officiating K-Boards 2.0 in Bangi yesterday.

Zahid also announced the approval of RM200,000 from the prime minister’s allocation for the development of MOAYC while the Department of Orang Asli Development will contribute RM200,000 in equipment to the council.

He said 800 Orang Asli have been tipped to participate in the Technical and Vocational Education Training programme this year, up from 700 youth last year.

‘They should be given equal opportunities’

“I hope for development among the Orang Asli youth not only in terms of boosting the economy and entrepreneurship but they should be given equal opportunities and participate in more professional courses and study in both local and foreign universities,” he said.

In other developments, Zahid, in his capacity as Umno president, said the 2022 General Assembly’s decision to not contest the party’s president and deputy president posts should be respected.

"The decision should be respected even though we value personal views,” he told reporters after he was asked to comment on Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s opinion that all party positions should be contested in accordance with the party’s constitution and idealism.

Ismail Sabri was reported to have said yesterday that restricting contests for the two highest party positions would make Umno seem undemocratic and would keep youth away from the party.

The majority of Umno delegates who attended the general assembly stated their support for the no-contest motion for this year’s election, and Umno is now in the process of obtaining approval for the motion from the Registrar of Societies.

- Bernama