KBS, JPM (RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS) COMMITTED TO STRENGTHEN YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

PUTRAJAYA, Feb 3 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) and the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) today expressed their commitment to enhance the function of mosques in an effort to strengthen youth development through the Rakan Muda programme.

Minister of Youth and Sports Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johari said national development requires the involvement of youth who are competitive and capable of becoming future leaders, hence efforts in this regard need to be initiated from the early stages.

"A mosque is not just a place of worship, but also a platform for promoting activities that build the character and identity of the youth.

"A mosque can also be a gathering place for young people to spark new and meaningful ideas, besides functioning as a space for sports and community activities, thus producing healthier youth in terms of both physical and spiritual aspects," he said at a press conference with Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Dr Zulkifli Hasan here today.

Earlier, the discussion that lasted more than an hour between the two ministers, among other things, touched on the role of mosques in developing the potential of youth through the Rakan Muda programme.

Dr Mohammed Taufiq said KBS was also open to expanding such initiatives to other places of worship such as temples in line with the need to produce a healthy, resilient and morally upright young generation.

"Our target is youth throughout Malaysia, and the second is cross-religious, meaning not only Muslim youth but also non-Muslims. Details on the implementation and type of programme will be announced on Feb 16,” he said.

Meanwhile, Zulkifli said a more proactive, progressive and collaborative approach was the basis for the implementation of the collaborative initiative between the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) and KBS.

“We are trying to change the approach to one that is more proactive, progressive and dynamic, meaning we can no longer do it separately. We have to work together with KBS to further strengthen the work.

“What we are trying to do is not only for spirituality but also to build the nation, to build unity so that we ensure that we do not only talk about the Muslim aspect, but we want to further strengthen interaction between all religions and races,” he said.

-- BERNAMA