Tenaganita congratulates 19-year-old Aqeel Ahmed Bhatti, a young refugee living in Malaysia, on being selected as one of 10 global recipients of the 2026 Leaders of Today Award, from more than 3,400 applications across over 40 countries.
For us, this recognition is significant not simply because Aqeel has received an international award, but because of what his journey represents.
Despite the many restrictions and uncertainties experienced by refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, Aqeel has chosen to use his own experiences to create opportunities for others in his community.
His work focuses on developing refugee-led livelihood opportunities, including home-based work that enables refugee and asylum-seeking girls and women, particularly those with caregiving responsibilities, to earn an income with greater flexibility and dignity.
Aqeel’s journey into community work began by helping refugee and asylum-seeking families with everyday challenges, by assisting with communication, technology and registration matters, before expanding into food assistance, interpretation, disability support, training and livelihood initiatives.
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What is particularly encouraging about Aqeel is that he is not only thinking about his own future. He is asking what he can do with the opportunities and skills he has to create possibilities for others.
At a time when refugees and asylum seekers are too often spoken about only in terms of vulnerability, dependency or as a problem to be managed, young people like Aqeel remind us that refugee and asylum-seeking communities also carry enormous talent, creativity and leadership.
When they are given space and opportunity, they can become powerful agents of change within their own communities. They can also contribute tremendously to the development and economy of the country.
Tenaganita sees Aqeel as part of an emerging generation of young community leaders whose voices and initiatives deserve to be recognised and supported.
His achievement also raises a larger question for Malaysia: how much more could young refugees and asylum seekers contribute to our communities and society if they were given meaningful opportunities to learn, work, innovate and lead?
We congratulate Aqeel on this recognition and look forward to seeing where his leadership takes him next. – Tenaganita
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
