KOTA KINABALU: The youths need new leaders who will meet their expectations, Sabah Youth Council president Abqaree Fawwaz Abekan said.
He said the youths were frustrated to see only few changes made to resolve their woes as the country was being ran by the same leaders for decades.
"(This took place during the decades of) the previous Barisan Nasional rule. And later we see a change of government to Pakatan Harapan, (later to Perikatan Nasional), and now back to BN, the administration is still the same.
"There are people, who are now in their 60s, are still seeing the same leaders governing the state and government.
"It is time to have 'fresh blood' to lead as the current leaders are only relevant for the past generations. They no longer in tune with the political development," he said when met.
Abqaree added that despite the frustration and reluctance of youths in getting involved in the elections, the council had been actively collaborating with other agencies under Sabah Sports and Youth Ministry in organising programmes to encourage and educate youths on their rights as voters.
"Instead of lamenting about their frustration, we want them to come down to vote to show (their concerns)."
He said youths have different expectations depending on where they come from and their backgrounds.
"For those in the urban areas, youngsters opt for leaders who understand and will bring up their voices while those in rural areas, their priority is more towards funding (for development) from the elected representatives.
"As for the Generation Z, who spends most of the time on smartphone, their political inclination would be based on what they read on the internet."
Among the issues that concerned the youths were seasonal politicians, employment and the implementation of incentives and empowerment programmes.
Abqaree said the government needed to emphasise on retaining talents in Sabah following the creation of Indonesia's new capital Nusantara in Kalimantan.
According to the Human Resources Ministry, Sabah had shown a high emigration of 45,900 people in 2020 due to the lack of job opportunities in Sabah, especially for educated and skilled youngsters.
Most of them emigrated to states that offer more job opportunities and economic development such as in Johor and Selangor.