GOVT SHOULD USE YOUNGER GENERATION AS SOUNDING BOARD - MALAYSIAN MINISTER

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 (Bernama) -- The government should use the younger
generation as sounding board to test the credibility and authenticity of works
carried out by ministries, Women, Family and Community Development Minister
Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said Monday.

She said that was crucial as the power was now in reverse mentoring,
particularly in a world driven by the information and communication
technologies.

"We need the young to feed us with expertise because they can help us to
gain an insight into areas that are unfamiliar to some leaders," she said in her
welcome speech at The First Ladies Summit 2010 which began here Monday. The
summit ends on Oct 13.

Shahrizat said that wisdom came with age and experience, but there was a
need for leaders to depend on the youth to keep ideas fresh and think outside
the box.

She also strongly believed that tightening the generation gap by respecting
the opinions of children would lead to much better decision-making.

"Therefore, bringing together the first ladies from various countries would
have better potential to take issues of early childhood development to new
heights," she told about 200 people attending the three-day summit focusing on
ways in which families, communities and governments could work together to
uncover the potential in every child.

The summit will see first ladies from 12 countries, including the prime
minister's wife, Rosmah Mansor, six representatives of first ladies,
nine ministers and some representatives from 31 nations.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will officiate the summit at Seri
Perdana, Putrajaya Monday night.

Seri Perdana is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

-- BERNAMA