Bintulu, 21 February 2026 — 

The Director of the Co-Curriculum and Student Development Centre (PKPP), Associate Professor Dr. Mohd Mursyid Arshad, delivered a keynote speech entitled “From Digital Potential to Leadership Power: Empowering Youth to Lead the Future” at the International Putra Bakti YLE-KUUB @ Youth Digital 2.0 Programme held in Bintulu yesterday with the participation of local and international youth.

In the keynote speech, he emphasised that today's youth generation needs to be empowered not only in terms of digital skills, but also strengthened with the values ​​of leadership with integrity, critical thinking and a strong identity. According to him, the rapid digital transformation requires youth to be more prepared, adaptive and competitive in order to be able to lead change in an increasingly challenging global landscape.

He also underlined that mastery of digital technology must be accompanied by ethical values, social responsibility and a spirit of volunteerism so that youth development is not only focused on technical aspects alone, but also forms a holistic leadership personality. In line with the country's higher education aspirations, he stressed the importance of appreciating the value of JIWA PUTRA as the basis for the formation of competent, resilient and future-oriented young leaders.

The International Putra Bakti YLE-KUUB @ Youth Digital 2.0 program, themed "Empowering Youth to Lead the Future", was organized by students of the QKK2101 Bakti Siswa course (Group 2), Second Semester of the 2025/2026 Academic Session, Universiti Putra Malaysia Sarawak (UPMS). The organization of this program aims to provide a comprehensive youth development platform through the combination of leadership, innovation, entrepreneurship and digital literacy elements in an interactive and inclusive learning ecosystem.

This program also received strategic cooperation from the Sarawak Children's Idea Economic Fund (TEGAS), Youth Leadership and Entrepreneurship (YLE) and the Universitas Borneo University Consortium (KUUB). This collaboration reflects the commitment of various parties in strengthening international networks and expanding opportunities for youth competency development across institutions and countries, particularly in the field of digital technology and youth leadership.

Throughout the program, participants were exposed to various high-impact activities including knowledge sharing sessions, youth leadership forums, digital skills development activities, and collaborative discussions focusing on the role of youth as agents of change in the era of Industrial Revolution 4.0 and the digital economy. The holistic approach highlighted provided participants with space to build self-confidence, improve communication skills, and hone their creative and innovative thinking abilities.

A total of 200 youth from various higher education and skills training institutions attended the program, including UPM Sarawak, UPM Serdang, Advanced Technology College (ADTEC) Bintulu, UiTM Sarawak, UiTM Sabah, UNiKL, TVET Bintulu, MRSM Bintulu, Universitas Kalimantan – Universitas Mulawarman, Palangka Raya and Tanjungpura, as well as universities from Brunei such as Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Universiti Teknologi Brunei and Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali.

This international participation strengthens the global element of the program, while fostering a regional network of cooperation among youth who share the same interests and aspirations for leadership, innovation and digital development. It is hoped that this program will produce a generation of youth who are not only digitally literate, but also capable of leading the future with values, integrity and a clear vision in line with the needs of an increasingly technology-driven world.

Date of Input: 24/02/2026 | Updated: 24/02/2026 | saidatul.halim