‘THE STRAITS TIMES SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26 2011 PAGE DI6 MY LIFE Forum for causes close to the heart | By Mcnavman Faroug Osman 1AM hopeful and excited about the prospects of a ‘youth parliament in Singapore. ‘A youth parliament will provide an avenue for young Singaporeans regardless of political affilia- tion to come together and discuss common issues affecting our society. Memiberchip chovld encompass repreventativoe from junior colleges, polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Fducation, and university undergradu- ates. It would be good to include young working adults up to the age of 35 too. Ultimately, representation in the youth parlia- ment should be wide enough to cover @ whole range of constituencies. Currently, establishments. such as the National Youth Council and the People’s As- sociation Youth Movement seem to dominate the promotion of youth concerns. Quite a few of my peers are passionately in- volved in causes close to their heart, ranging from social enterprise and community service to environ- mental protection and religious understanding. ‘These are just some of the issues that could be dis sed, on top of wider concerns such as the cost of ving, immigration, social mobility and political pluralism, youth parliament should also allow an unhin= dered expression of views. At the same time, mem= bers should abide by consensus rules that govern their conduct in session, and should be guided es- sentially by the imperative of respecting one anoth- er. Here, Singapore's multi-religious, rmultiracial and multicultural context has to be taken into con- sideration. ‘The platform presented by such a youth parlia~ ‘ment would provide a training ground for democrat ic political participation beyond the five-yearly Gen- eral Flection. By actually giving us the opportunity to thrash out ideas and debate among ourselves within an institutional context, it will hopefully help us become more accustomed to the real con- cems of policy trade-offs and acquainted with civil norms of discourse essential to the functioning of real democracies Thave faith in the ability of my peers to provide ‘new and useful insights into such issues, which the powers that be could take note of and implement for the greater good. The miter, 22, is a University of Singapore. 5 warn facetook.com/ pages /Youthink/171544812880710 year sociology major at the National