The rising cost of living is diminishing the value of our income, with many finding it hard to make ends meet, especially so for those in the lower-income group. How might employees, particularly fresh graduates, meet their needs in the face of stagnating salaries? What can be done to ensure fresh graduates are able to sustain themselves with the current rate of starting salaries? The government needs to do more, most would argue.

Addressing the rising cost of living should be the main priority of the Malaysian government – this is the motion for the maiden session of the GenZ @ the Podium debate series this year. "GenZ @ the Podium" is a parliamentary simulation whereby the youth debaters will get the chance to exchange views and insights with active politicians to discuss policies pertaining youth and the economics in Malaysia. As this is a nonpartisan event, all participants including the politicians, are not allowed to represent any political party.

We encourage all interested parties to join this english session, which will be one of four youth debate sessions to be held in Parliament on 26 August. There are only 100 seats in Parliament, so hurry and book your seat here today. Alternatively, you can also watch the session LIVE on Malaysiakini and KiniTV Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.

GenZ@ the Podium is organised by KiniEvents, with International Republican Institute (IRI) as collaborative partner, MYAirline as airline partner, Experiential Design Team (EDT) as the Metaverse Partner, Malaysian Institute of Debate and Public Speaking (MIDP) as the Soft Skills Training partner, supported by the Parliament of Malaysia and Ministry of Youth and Sports, Undi18, UndiSabah, The Risers, Institutes of Research and Development of Policy (IRDP), and Malaysian Youth Association for Diplomacy and Policy (MYADP) as Co-Partner.

Through this programme, the youths have the opportunity to increase their awareness and knowledge of the law-making process, while exposing them to the rules, procedures and ethics that need to be adhered to in every parliamentary proceeding. The YPD series was also held in 2019 and 2022.

For any enquiries or partnership opportunities, please email us at [email protected].