PARLIMEN Digital participants met lawmakers from both sides of the political divide to prepare for the youth-led online initiative now under police investigation, the organising secretariat said.

The youths met ministers, deputy ministers and elected representatives both at the parliamentary and state legislative assembly level.

From the Perikatan Nasional government, those they met included Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Nancy Shukri and Minister in the Prime MInister’s Department (Economics) Mustapa Mohamed. 

From Pakatan Harapan, the youths met, among others, former deputy prime minister and Pandan MP Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Nga Kor Ming, who is also Teluk Intan MP.

The secretariat said that the initiative, which saw youths representing the 222 federal constituencies in Malaysia in a mock Parliament session online using virtual conferencing, was neutral and that participants were not chosen based on political inclination.

This was in response to police questioning of several participants over the neutrality of the initiative.

Parlimen Digital was broadcast live on Facebook yesterday, where the youths debated a motion for a special economic plan to assist young people impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The session continued and ended today with a debate on preparing the education system to cater to marginalised communities that do not have the means to access education during a pandemic.

The youth organisations behind the initiative are Challenger, Liga Rakyat Demokratk and Undi18. – July 5, 2020.