The involvement of youths in radicalism currently was worrisome, said Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Acording to him, 80 percent of the arrests the police had made as of Sept 20 last year involved those under the age of 40.

He said a comprehensive study conducted by the Malaysian Institute for Research in Youth Development had identified the tendency of youth being involved and their support for militant activities by the Islamic State.

"The study has taken into consideration the demographic and psychological profiles and mapped the factors which leads youth in Malaysia to be attracted into joining IS," he said in a statement issued after the Cabinet Committee meeting on Youth Development Series 5, today.

Ahmad Zahid had chaired the two-hour meeting which also focused on the threats faced by new millennials, as well as efforts to strengthen youth identity.

In this regard, Ahmad Zahid said a guideline on the prevention of extremism and radicalism in society had been produced to provide knowledge, exposure and guidance to all related parties.

He said various radicalism prevention programmes had been drafted by the Ministry of Youth and Sports to be integrated with other ministries and agencies.

"The aspect of general prevention has been prioritised whereby the strategy put forward is to optimise the role of social media as a medium for disseminating 'narrative content'.

"The presentation of 'narrative content' is in digital form and creative, as youths are more attracted to innovative approaches," he said.

Ahmad Zahid stressed that advocacy and educational programmes should be implemented continuously, as youth comprised the largest population composition, with more than 46 percent of 31.7 million citizens recorded in 2016.

He called on all levels of society to remain alert towards factors which encouraged youths to be affected by negative influences, so that their energy and passion could be utilised in more worthwhile things.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid said the involvement of youths with the government should be strengthened to ensure efforts to make Malaysia one of the 20 best countries in the world through the National Transformation 2050 (TN50) plan could be achieved.

TN50, as envisaged by Prime Minister Najib Razak is a futuristic policy based on the aspirations of youths today, to shape the country for the next 30 years, he said.

During the meeting, two proposal and six working papers were discussed, among them the Results of a Youth Profile Study in Extremism, Radicalism Prevention Programme Among Youths, and Implementation of Youth Policies in Malaysia.

- Bernama