KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 — Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said today creative new ways are needed to provide a social security safety net for a younger generation embracing a “You Only Live Once” (YOLO) mindset and non-traditional career paths.
Speaking at the World Social Security Forum (WSSF) 2025, Yeoh noted that youths today often see more lucrative futures in becoming a TikTok influencer or an e-sports athlete than in pursuing a conventional university degree.
She described the challenge of persuading them to plan for the long term when they see immediate, high returns from online activities.
“‘Why should I go to study, get a degree, and then come out with a starting pay of RM3,000? When I can earn RM15,000 just by becoming creative and doing an online post?’” she said, describing the youth perspective.
Yeoh said this “YOLO” approach means young people prioritise immediate experiences over future planning, a reality policymakers must acknowledge.
“But they believe in YOLO – you only live once, you do everything early, you don’t live for the future,” she said.
To address this, Yeoh outlined several initiatives her ministry is implementing to adapt to these new realities.
These include doubling the number of gazetted sports to broaden income opportunities, providing athletes with formal salaries and Employees Provident Fund (EPF)/Social Security Organisation (Socso) protection instead of just allowances, and diversifying skill training into short courses.
She explained that short, weekend-style courses are more appealing to a generation that values immediate, practical skills learned online over lengthy degree programmes.
“Because they can do a master’s class on YouTube and learn how to fix something in two minutes.
“And, so, when you send them to university and tell them you have to sit through three years to get a degree, they won’t sign up,” she said.
Yeoh also stressed the importance of inter-ministry collaboration to reach more people effectively, echoing a call made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in Cabinet.
“The key here is really about collaboration and diversifying, and do not put social security in a box because social security in 30 years’ time may look very, very different,” she said.
The plenary session also included Human Resources Minister Steven Sim, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad, Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo, and Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.
