KUALA LUMPUR: The Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) is implementing various programmes to prepare the young people for the implementation of Undi18.

Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu said the ministry was concerned and realised the need to make the young people understand and realised their voting rights.

He said the initiatives implemented, included through the Rukun Negara @ Belia programme.

"The main content of this programme is to give awareness to youths on their responsibility as voters, now that the voting age has been reduced to 18, and also to increase their knowledge on politics," he said during the question and answer session in the Dewan Negara.

He was responding to a question from Senator Khairil Nizam Khirudin who wanted to know programmes carried out by the KBS to prepare the youths, especially on their voting right, to make them more sensitive, alert and participate (participate) in the country's democratic politics.

Ahmad Faizal said some 114 face-to-face and online Rukun Negara @ Belia programmes had been planned this year and as of last Sept 15, 87 of the programms had been implemented, involving the participation of 55,696 people.

Apart from that, he said , to ensure continuous education and awareness, the ministry, through the Youth and Sports Department, had formulated a political literacy campaign which aimed to provide awareness and understanding, especially to the youths who would be voting for the first time.

"The ministry has also produced a short video 'Etos Anak Muda' which is aimed at providing information, strengthening understanding regarding Malaysia which practices parliamentary democracy under the administration of a constitutional monarch.

"Another programme is the online Rakan Muda Klik, which is implemented in the form of quizzes on aspects of nationhood, patriotism, politics and governance. It aims to increase the knowledge of the young generation towards transforming the values of democracy, general knowledge and nationhood, as well as enhance their spirit of nationhood and self-identity," he added.

-- BERNAMA