PUTRAJAYA, Aug 7 — The Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) is expanding its “Kuasa Orang Muda” (KOM) initiative nationwide to deepen democratic education and political literacy among young Malaysians as a long-term investment following the implementation of Undi18.
Youth and Sports Minister Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johari stated that the initiative, anchored under the flagship Rakan Muda umbrella, seeks to nurture leadership, critical thinking, and civic awareness so that the younger generation can make mature and responsible choices at the ballot box.
Speaking at a press conference following the launch of the Month of Friends of Democracy through the KOM initiative today, Dr Mohammed Taufiq emphasized that civic education must be a sustained, multi-year effort rather than a one-off campaign.
“We will tour all IPT, colleges, go into villages, organise carnivals where our focus and target is young people because it is not a one-off programme and requires several series of programmes,” Dr Mohammed Taufiq said. “We will reap the results after several times or even several years, only then will we see that our first step is a very important step.”
The minister pointed out that following the formal lowering of the voting age to 18 on January 1, 2022—following a Kuching High Court ruling on September 6, 2021—first-time voters require structured guidance to understand election processes and exercise their constitutional rights.
“After we implement Vote 18, what we need to do is provide a good platform for young people to be given exposure. Because many young people do not yet know how to vote,” he added.
Dr Mohammed Taufiq highlighted that the approach used is accessible and all modules developed remain strictly neutral and non-partisan, providing a safe space for youth to make choices based on facts rather than partisan influence.
“We want to cultivate the politics of performance over identity politics,” the minister stated. “Young people need to choose leaders based on data, facts and performance, not sentiment alone.”
Aiming to help young citizens realize that the nation’s trajectory rests in their hands, the initiative also establishes structured channels for youth perspectives and aspirations to be systematically gathered and presented to policymakers for inclusion in national development strategies.
The Month of Friends of Democracy will feature nationwide outreach, culminating in the Youth Power Festival x Mega Careers & Study Fair (MCASF) 2026 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) on August 22 and 23, alongside the KOM Tour Series to public hotspots and higher learning institutions.
Key tour stops include Kota Kinabalu Polytechnic, Merlimau Polytechnic, MAHSA University, Pasar Siswa in Pahang, the Business Festival at University College MAIWP International (UCMI) in Kuala Lumpur, and Lorong Belakang in Cyberjaya.
In addition to physical engagements, KOM’s digital platform offers accessible e-learning modules on public policy and local socio-economic data via belajar.kuasaorangmuda.com, alongside the “Youth Power Voice” portal designed to gather youth feedback in an inclusive and neutral manner for policymaking consideration.
–NMT
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