Membership in Malaysian youth societies has dropped by 45% to 544,940 following the enforcement of a new lower age limit for youth.
KUALA LUMPUR: The number of members in registered youth societies has fallen sharply to 544,940 as of February 28 following the enforcement of a new age definition.
Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Mordi Bimol said this 45% drop from the previous 991,729 members occurred because individuals aged between 30 and 40 are no longer categorised as youth under the Youth Societies and Youth Development (Amendment) Act 2019.
He was responding to a question from Senator Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz in the Dewan Negara regarding the policy’s impact on membership and association sustainability.
The amendment, which took effect on January 1, redefines youth as those aged between 15 and below 30 years, while setting the age limit for organisation leaders between 18 and below 30 with a tenure capped at four years.
Mordi argued the policy has produced positive effects despite the membership decline by providing greater leadership opportunities for younger people and reducing the dominance of older groups.
He stated the change has made policy implementation more targeted towards real youth needs while rendering organisations more dynamic and relevant to current challenges.
To encourage new youth organisations, especially in rural or low-income areas, the Youth and Sports Ministry has waived registration and constitutional amendment fees until December 31, 2027.
The ministry is also running compliance programmes like Santuni Pertubuhan Belia and various workshops to ensure organisational sustainability under the new act.
