SARAWAK youth are generally happy with how the state is run, an Institute for Youth Research (IYRES) survey has found.

State Tourism, Youth, Arts and Culture Minister Abdul Karim Hamzah, giving a sneak peek at the findings of the year-long study, said the 13,000 youth respondents, aged between 15 and 30, are “very passionate and sensitive” about state rights and how the matter is being handled by the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak coalition government.

He said the survey also showed that youth are of the opinion that the state has not been fairly paid what is due to it.

“(That’s why) they’re passionate about the state’s rights,” he told a press conference after chairing a Sarawak Youth Development Committee meeting, where the survey report was presented to him, in Kuching today.

He said further details cannot be made known as yet because the survey results are still under embargo, as he has yet to submit the report to the state cabinet for discussions.

Karim’s ministry had commissioned IYRES to conduct the study to find out “what youth want” and “what their hopes are”, with the aim of formulating better policies for the group.

“The survey was not conducted for political (reasons), but to help the state government draw up better youth policies and improve what should be done with regard to youth.”

Sarawak is the third state, after Sabah and Johor, to conduct the IYRES survey, which started well before the 14th general election in May last year, and ended in January.

The study covered all of the state’s 40 districts. – August 8, 2019.