Youth exchanges could mean China, Malaysia will ‘always be close’: Minister Saddiq, 25

Asia’s youngest minister, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, outlines vision for professional development exchange programme between the two countries

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Asia’s youngest cabinet minister, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman of Malaysia. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Published: 10:31pm, 10 Oct 2018Updated: 4:12pm, 11 Oct 2018

Exchange programmes between youth leaders in Malaysia and China could bolster diplomatic ties between the countries, according to Asia’s youngest cabinet minister, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

Likening his proposal to China’s “panda diplomacy”, 25-year-old Saddiq, Malaysia’s minister for youth and sport, said on Wednesday that it “wouldn’t be unconventional for us to have a lot more exchange programmes”.

Doing so would “ensure that the relationship between top brass in China and Malaysia as well as the grass roots will always be close”, he told the South China Morning Post ’s China Conference in Kuala Lumpur. “In the end, our futures are interconnected.”

Saddiq said his idea for connecting youth leaders from various nations with their Malaysian counterparts drew on his own experiences with the United States government’s professional development exchange programme, the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative, and that he hoped to emulate its success.

He also emphasised the need for young people to be brought to the forefront of politics and governance.

Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, 25, is Malaysia’s minister for youth and sports. File photo