SHAH ALAM, Oct 4 ― The Idea Bina Negara (IBN) digital platform which enables Malaysians, especially the young people, to submit their ideas and aspirations towards nation building has received more than 12,000 input from youth across the country.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said he was very pleased because the biggest contributor of ideas, who made up 57.9 per cent of the respondents, was those aged between 18 and 21 years.

"In a bid to strengthen the spirit of the Malaysian Family, and because of its concern, the government always ensures that the voices of youth and the young generation as a whole, are always heard and given attention.

"This is because youth are full of idealism which is very important as they are exposed to more progressive ideas obtained locally or from abroad, through the internet,” he said at the launch of IBN 2022 at Universiti Teknologi Mara here today.

Ismail Sabri said data and information obtained through the IBN digital platform would help the government in providing appropriate initiatives and incentives for young people.

The Prime Minister said the government really needs solid support from the young people to develop Malaysia and that he believed the IBN digital platform initiative had opened up space for them to channel their ideas and voice out their problems to the government.

"I’m confident that by taking into account the voices, recommendations and aspirations of these young people, we will be able to make the big agenda of national recovery a success,” he said.

Elaborating, Ismail Sabri said text analysis using artificial intelligence technology showed that the ideas put forward through the IBN platform had been positive and constructive, and 12 per cent of the ideas touched on the aspects of political stability, government performance and the quality and maturity of leaders.

Meanwhile, the prime minister said the government is very concerned about the employment opportunity issue plaguing today's youth with 46.2 per cent only earning a monthly income of less than RM2,500 a month.

In this regard, he said the government has introduced various initiatives including apprenticeships for school leavers and fresh graduates that allow employers to employ workers aged 18 to 30 by providing incentives amounting to RM900 per month.

He added that the government has also introduced a financing plan amounting to RM150 million channelled through Bank Simpanan Nasional and Agrobank specifically for the youth who want to venture into entrepreneurship. ― Bernama