Despite the high literacy rate in Malaysia, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) found that about 44,000 school-age children have never attended school as of 2009.
The United Nations resident coordinator and UNFPA representative for Malaysia, Michele Gyles-McDonnough said this had certain negative implications on their future, creating situations that would cost much more to solve than if the problem was averted at its inception.
"Literacy among young people are over 97 per cent while 98 per cent of young people say that they have some form of access to the Internet," she said in her opening remarks at the launching of the State of World Population Report 2014, titled 'The Power of 1.8 Billion: Adolescents, Youth and the Transformation of the Future' at Wisma UN, here, today.
She also noted the overwhelming number of Malaysians getting married at a young age and got into family life before they were fully equipped physically and mentally to bear the responsibility.
She said that more than 150,000 Malaysians married too early, at age below 19, and compromised their ability to get an education and be part of a productive labour force in a high-income nation, and instead relegated themselves to a life of dependency and under-employment.
"Early marriage denies young people the basic right to full realisation of their potential and better options must be made available to Malaysian youth.
"The 2010 UNGASS Country Progress Report showed that in 2009, 477 girls under the age of 19 presented with pregnancy at the Ministry of Health's maternal and child health clinics across the country," Gyles-McDonnough said.
She also noted that two new cases of women infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were reported in Malaysia every day with women and girls accounting for 18 per cent of all newly infected persons in 2009, compared to 4 per cent in 1996.
She said there were currently over 8.4 million or 30 per cent of the nation's population comprising young people aged 10 to 24.
"The young generation needs to be empowered to transform the future by investing on them from birth to young adulthood to ensure they are fully able to unleash their power, besides trusting them in making responsible decisions.
"We need to create opportunities for our young to find their place as leaders, innovators, change-agents and entrepreneurs of the future and to close every loophole, every bottleneck that could potentially derail the life of a young person," she said.
Meanwhile, National Population and Family Development Board chairman, Tan Sri Napsiah Omar said with Malaysia's growing young population, the country had to concern itself with high-quality education and comprehensive healthcare.
She said it was important to shape and prepare the young generation to be leaders and shapers of the future while the country would experience a 'demographic dividend', where its working age population grew larger than the non-working group to create a more productive economy.
"In order to realise this demographic dividend, we have to ensure that our young people are healthy and well educated and equipped with the necessary skills. Education is indeed a very important tool for the country to propel to a higher level of development.
"On the other hand, we have to place more emphasis on stimulating rapid and inclusive economic growth and ensuring access to jobs, credit, financial services and other economic blocks," she said.
Bernama
Wed Dec 17 2014
About 44,000 school-age children have never attended school as of 2009 in Malaysia. - File pic
Jemputan peribadi ke Mesyuarat Khas WEF bukti keakraban Putera Mahkota Mohammed, PM
Ini merupakan lawatan keempat Anwar ke Arab Saudi sejak dilantik sebagai Perdana Menteri.
Kerajaan Pusat peruntuk RM1.59 bilion untuk pembangunan fizikal di Terengganu
Peruntukan tersebut melibatkan 99 projek baharu dan 296 projek sambungan di bawah Rolling Plan 4 (RP4) Rancangan Malaysia ke-12 (RMK12).
Pahang rancang wujudkan zon perindustrian di setiap daerah
Kerajaan Pahang rancang wujudkan zon perindustrian di kesemua 11 daerah di negeri ini bagi menggalakkan kemasukan lebih banyak pelaburan asing khususnya dari China.
Kertas kabinet wujud sektor sukan dibentang dalam tempoh sebulan - Hannah
Hannah berkata dengan data yang lebih menyeluruh melibatkan sektor industri sukan nanti, pihaknya akan mampu merangsang pertumbuhan sukan di negara ini dengan lebih baik.
Tiga Syarikat Semikonduktor umum melabur di Pulau Pinang - Kon Yeow
Tiga syarikat semikonduktor dari China menyatakan komitmen untuk membuat pelaburan baharu di Pulau Pinang.
Pindaan garis panduan lawatan: Sekolah diharap susun semula program - Fadhlina
Semua sekolah diharap dapat menyusun semula program lawatan masing-masing berikutan pindaan Garis Panduan Lawatan Murid Sekolah pada tahun lepas bagi mengukuhkan pembelajaran di luar kelas, kata Menteri Pendidikan, Fadhlina Sidek.
Kebajikan pendidikan anak-anak dijaga sehingga tamat sekolah - KPM
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia akan memastikan kebajikan pendidikan anak-anak 10 pegawai dan anggota Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia yang terkorban dalam nahas helikopter di Lumut, Perak, terus dijaga sehingga mereka tamat persekolahan.
Chegubard ditahan polis berkaitan hantaran mengenai kasino di Forest City
Chegubard ditahan di Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah (IPD) Dang Wangi di sini berkaitan hantaran mengenai pengoperasian kasino di Forest City pada Sabtu.
Zahid minta pihak dalam BN buka "buku baharu"
Ahmad Zahid menegaskan senario politik tanah air sudah berubah dan terdapat banyak video lama dari parti lawan yang meminta pengundi menyokong DAP.
Malaysia kongsi pengalaman dalam usaha berterusan mempertahan Palestin
Delegasi negara akan berkongsikan peranan Malaysia dalam usaha berterusan mempertahankan nasib Palestin dalam Persidangan Liga Parlimen Al-Quds kelima yang berlangsung di Istanbul, Turki pada Sabtu.
Boris janji Brexit pada 31 Januari 2020
Perdana Menteri UK Boris Johnson berjanji bahawa Brexit akan dicapai pada 31 Januari 2020 tanpa sebarang kemungkinan dan alasan.
UK Memilih: Corbyn akur kekalahan, umum bakal letak jawatan
Jeremy Corbyn umum tidak lagi akan memimpin Parti Buruh pada pilihan raya umum akan datang selepas mengalami -kekecewaan- pada malam Khamis.