During Ramadan, in between state and constituency functions I managed to take part in two youth dialogues.
The first was a networking and buka puasa session with young Keadilan leaders at Gloria Jeans Mont Kiara. This was the first time such an event was organised and from Keadilan YB Amirudin Shari, YB Nurul Izzah, YB Chang Lih Kang, Sharifah Shahidah, Lee Khai Loon and myself appeared. The response was overwhelming – from students and young professionals based in Malaysia and abroad – as we exchanged views on current affairs and issues.
Next ECONS organised a coffee shop chat, ’Apa Cerita Ekonomi Malaysia’ at Old Town Kopitiam, Jaya One. The function started at 10.30 PM after terawikh prayers! My old friend from the UK, Wan Mohd Firdaus who is now the MB of Johor’s Special Officer for the Iskandar Region joined me as a panelist. The atmosphere was relaxed and a group of students and professionals both from BN and PR (as well as the non-partisan crowd) took part.
I essentially emphasised the challenges we face due to our low-wage economy, deficit-budget as well as the New Economic Policy.
Both functions were a fresh change from the usual ‘acara rasmi’ that I normally attend, and the opportunity to interact with a group of passionate and bright young Malaysians is precious indeed!
The photos can be viewed here and here.
