SYED Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman’s press conference yesterday, when he announced his resignation as Muda president, was a class act. The High Court had earlier convicted him of money-laundering, criminal breach of trust, and two other charges. He is now free pending appeal. 

Thanks to the quirks of the Malaysian constitution, Syed Saddiq remains Muar MP, a seat he has held since the 2018 election. In his first term he was appointed youth and sports minister at age 25, the youngest federal minister ever. Quite an impressive start!

Had Syed Saddiq been in the Indian parliament, he would have to resign his parliamentary seat upon conviction regardless of his appeal status. India adopted that rule in 2013.

In resigning as his party’s leader, Syed Saddiq set a new level of conduct for the political class. It was no surprise that his press conference where he announced his resignation received many favourable comments on social media.

Much as I admire his performance, I felt that Syed Saddiq, like so many bright young Malays, is wasting his precious talent. If I were privileged to be his mentor, this is what I would have advised him. When he graduated from law school I would have encouraged him to further his studies and not be satisfied with his first degree. Get accepted to a prestigious university to pursue his LLM or PhD. He would have no difficulty getting funding for that.

After that, find a job with a high-powered law firm to get some real life experience, and with that, some money in the bank to take care of his future family. Consideration to enter politics should come after. It is unfortunate that so many bright young Malays today think that their first degree is enough. They lack adequate mentoring to advise them otherwise.

Young Malays today have a limited horizon and think that the only way for them to serve their community is through politics. Malay politicians are a dime a dozen; not so with Malay entrepreneurs, professionals, and scientists. You serve your community far more effectively through those routes. What Malaysia needs are smart politicians, not run-of-the mill types adept only at stirring the masses with their Malay supremacy fantasies and delusions. Malays already have a glut of those types.

Over my decades in the United States I have been privileged to meet many smart young Malays. Unfortunately many are in a rush to return home to “help my people”, and think politics is the only path to that end. Alas many of them ended up like Syed Saddiq, their talents squandered. Think of the good Syed Saddiq would have done had he become an accomplished lawyer and fight for citizens like what Siti Kasim is now doing. 

Today young Syed Saddiq faces some very serious punishments. Let us hope he has some seasoned lawyers representing him.

Muda is now helmed by its vice-president, Amira Aisya Abdul Aziz, another young lawyer. As one of the few non-race-based parties (the other being Anwar Ibrahim’s PKR), Muda should be confident of its own winning strategy. That is what Malaysia needs today. Focus on building the party and quit forming alliances. Start on your own. Prepare now in time to contest the next major election. In the meantime strengthen the party. Building a political party means recruiting members. 

One way to showcase you are indeed a novel party with fresh innovative ideas would be to introduce term limits for your officers, and have the equivalent of local primaries to select candidates for state and federal elections. Separate yourself from existing stale political parties where the folks at headquarters would select the candidates. Instead, have your local members select your party’s electoral candidates. Practise local democracy. Then you would have candidates who would pay attention to their local constituents instead of sucking up to the party’s apparatchiks at headquarters. That is the curse of PAS, Umno, and other established parties.

Muda’s top priority now should be to establish branches in every federal and state constituencies. Recruit local accomplished personalities who share your views to join the party. Begin by sharing the party’s vision of Malaysia with the people.

For those other bright young Malays, let Syed Saddiq be a cautionary tale. There is a vast and exciting field out there to serve your nation outside of politics. – November 10, 2023.

* M. Bakri Musa reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.