Abd Karim: S’wak not following Putrajaya’s decision to lower youth age limit

SARAWAK will not be following the federal government’s decision to lower the youth age limit from 40 to 30 starting 2026, said Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.

He said this revision will affect the committee line-up in youth associations and the National Youth Council, as they cannot be older than 30 years old.

“At this point in time, we will not be following the federal government’s decision (to lower the youth age limit). Sarawak can decide on the youth age limit at the state-level, and we have our own ways of deciding,” he said during a press conference at the State Legislative Assembly here today.

He pointed out that Sarawak had only recently reduced the youth age limit from 45 to 40, and he believed it will continue to be lowered in the future.

He also cited the Sarawak United National Youth Organisation (Saberkas), which practises a hybrid formula in the committee line-up.

“About 70 per cent of the committee members are aged between 18 and 40. We allocate about 30 per cent of the committee to those above 40 years old,” he said.

He said this is because the state believes older members can still guide the younger generation in better administrating and managing an association.

With that said, Abdul Karim remarked the state government is determined in acknowledging the potential of the youth, as evidenced by the number of candidates aged below 40 who were fielded in the recent elections.

Federal Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh recently said the revision to the youth age limit with come into effect Jan 1, 2026, when the Youth Societies and Youth Development (Amendment) Act 2019 comes into force.

She said among others, the amendment will set the age limit of youth society office bearers to 18 to 30 years old.