Sabah Youth Council targets 40 pct youth participation

KOTA KINABALU (Dec 30): The Sabah Youth Council has set a target to increase youth participation in clubs and associations across the state to 40 per cent by next year as part of its efforts to strengthen youth development.

Its president, Abqaree Fawwaz Abekan, said the target would serve as a benchmark to galvanise collective action among youth organisations in Sabah.

“Youth participation in clubs, associations and volunteerism currently stands at around 15 per cent of Sabah’s total youth population of about 2.2 million,” he said in a statement on Friday.

“The council has set a participation target of 40 per cent to be achieved together with affiliated youth bodies in Sabah. This collective mission is aimed at energising youth development in the state,” he added.

Abqaree said achieving the target would require the expansion of grassroots programmes, particularly from 2026 onwards, as well as stronger financial support from the government.

“To reach the 40 per cent target, the Sabah Youth Council plans to increase the number of youth development programmes at the grassroots level in 2026.

“However, these efforts require strong government support, especially in terms of funding. We hope the government will view this mission as an investment in human capital development that can nurture the potential of young people in the state,” he said.

The Sabah Youth Council currently serves as an umbrella body for 19 affiliated youth organisations, including the Sabah branches of the Malaysian Scout Federation, Girl Guides Association of Malaysia, Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM), Pergerakan Puteri Islam Malaysia (PPIM), The Girls’ Brigade, The Boys’ Brigade, St John Ambulance Malaysia, the Malaysian Red Crescent Society, Junior Chamber International (JCI), as well as nine other divisional youth associations.