I’ve simply accomplished a scan of newspaper articles and social media channels over the final six weeks to attempt to perceive public perceptions of the response to the December 2021 floods extra clearly. I used to be instantly struck by the variety of articles about youth volunteerism and activism throughout this horrible occasion.
In the first week of February 2022, the Planetary Health Centre that I handle at Sunway University convened our second youth city corridor. These city halls present a possibility for us to interact with younger individuals from throughout Malaysia and talk about planetary well being points with them.
Through the information articles and my discussions with the city corridor members, I mirrored on the simplicity and readability of their actions and suggestions. Their key message is that the poorly managed response to the floods can’t be allowed to occur once more.
Columnist Jemilah Mahmood at a clinic for flood-affected Orang Asli final 12 months. — Sunway Centre for Planetary HealthThey additionally recognised {that a} key lacking ingredient at the time was efficient coordination and management by the authorities, particularly for NGOs and people who pitched in to assist flood-affected individuals; one thing the Prime Minister and authorities have courageously acknowledged.
But past this, what was crystal clear of their message was that our nation is poorly ready for the bigger planetary well being disaster that’s all too clearly now upon us, and which at this time’s younger individuals can be answerable for addressing as its impacts improve all too quickly.
My key takeaway is that there’s a enormous want on the a part of younger individuals to change into extra engaged in the governance of this nation, and that a lot of that is pushed by huge concern for the harm brought on to our lived atmosphere by our present fully unsustainable administration of pure assets and the basic lack of concern for the penalties of this mismanagement.
They see that we should dwell up to our nationwide and worldwide commitments round local weather change, carbon emission discount, sustainable growth and, by extension, planetary well being and thus reposition how we dwell our lives so that individuals and planet can thrive harmoniously.
As Meredith Weiss, an skilled on Malaysian politics, wrote in a paper this month for Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, “Youth are critically important to political change, beyond short-term electoral fluctuations, especially in cultivating new political sensibilities and initiatives pitched to influence not just their peers, but also society as a whole.”
Malaysia is, I imagine, beginning to grasp the fact of this however smear campaigns in opposition to younger individuals throughout the flood response additionally point out political nervousness over the rising affect of youth voices and motion in our society. This response is short- sighted and misses the alternative to interact younger individuals meaningfully.
In line with my perception that we want to not solely discuss but in addition act, as well as to the city halls, which offer a venue to change views on planetary well being and begin the means of serving to younger individuals to mobilise round planetary well being rules, Sunway University is introducing a compulsory planetary well being group service course. It is piloting now and by 2024 will want to be taken by all college students.
The course goals to make sure that college students can immerse themselves in planetary well being discourse and implement a venture which connects their specialist space of examine to planetary well being.
I would really like to see this course as a pilot which could be rolled out throughout academia in Malaysia and as a foundation for planetary well being being taught as a topic in faculties. Our rising leaders want to perceive planetary well being – and there’s no higher place to get this underway than in our schooling system.
But past this work we want to interact extra broadly with younger individuals. Young leaders are already there – eager, passionate, clear-thinking and full of vitality to mobilise their friends. Providing an area for dialogue and debate on how to take their agenda ahead is a private precedence.
As the voting age drops to 18 it’s time to recognise that younger individuals can and can play a larger position in shaping our nation. Helping to make sure that their collective voice is concentrated on a sustainable future for Malaysia, the place individuals and planet can thrive in concord, have to be a precedence for these of us who can start the means of sharing coverage and operational house and supporting their rising management.
So I name on our political class to take time to listen to the knowledge of our youth leaders and advocates, to interact with them and to recognise that the future belongs to them, not to us.
Dr Jemilah Mahmood, a doctor and skilled disaster chief, was appointed the govt director of the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health at Sunway University in August 2021. She is the founding father of support organisation Mercy Malaysia and has served in management roles internationally with the United Nations and Red Cross for the final decade.
