| James Kon |
THE doubling of award nominees for this year’s National Youth Day compared to last year’s indicated an increase in the local youth’s calibre, the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports said.
There are 11 nominees for the Excellent Youth Award, 17 for the Voluntary Youth Award, 11 for the Young Youth Leader Award and 25 for the Excellent Project for Youth Award.
Last year, there were only eight nominees for the Excellent Youth Award, eight for the Voluntary Youth Award, three for the Young Youth Leader Award and 13 for the Excellent Project for Youth Award.
Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports during a get-together ceremony with the nominees said the high number of nominees for the awards showed the increasing calibre of the youths in the country.
“The increase in nominees is a sign that many people followed the nation’s youth policy which is formulated to educate and shape youths for the prosperity of the beloved nation,” he said.
The minister also understood the excitement of the nominees for the actual day. To the ministry, “all the nominees are already winners because you are the best youths in the various fields”.
In addition, he highlighted that the award nominees can assist the ministry in making “rapid advancement of youth through the areas where each nominee possesses competence and competitive advantages”.
The ministry will also consider introducing more categories for the awards, such as for finance, employment, economy, self-development and international relation.
The ministry will work with the youths “to come up with action plans, strategies and programmes for the benefit of youths”, the minister said.
The National Youth Day award, he said, “is the national youth policy’s recommendation to select youth who is outstanding or excellent. Every year, in conjunction with the National Youth Day celebration, the country will select youth who can become role models to others and possess the aspiration to become icons of the nation.”
A presentation of certificate for the nominees was also held during the event.
The get-together at the Hassanal Bolkiah National stadium is the first of such event, providing an opportunity for the nominees to interact with the minister.
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