URBAN youth are in two minds whether Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman’s party will be able to bring meaningful reforms to national politics and champion youth issues.

Some told The Malaysian Insight that having such a youth-based party is a good move because it would pave the way for younger lawmakers to enter Parliament.

However, they said the party must be able to look at issues through a new lens instead of falling into the old trap practised by traditional parties.

Meanwhile, there are others who were sceptical about the impact that can be made by the party and if it can elbow its way into the present political landscape.

For 23-year-old Darren Philip, a youth party will be a good step to empower youth to be future leaders of the country.

He said a youth party will make politics a draw for younger people as the current median age of politicians in the country is 55 years.

“It will be good to have fresh young faces in Parliament soon and that will probably encourage those from a similar age group to be interested in voting.”

Darren said a youth party is more likely to have a different approach towards matters and issues like education subsidies, providing incentives for fresh graduates to work with the government and understanding the current youth culture in general.

“My only demand is that the youth of this country are not overlooked due to age but taken seriously due to their passion and drive to make Malaysia a better place for all races,” said the undergraduate communications student.

Hadi Azmi, 32, said, while he has reservations about the party’s agenda and hopes it would be made clear in the future, it is refreshing to see young against old voices in politics.

“Overall, having a bona fide platform that puts the voice of the younger generation on a par with the same old faces in politics is refreshing and would motivate them to speak out more and be heard,” he said.

Hadi said he hopes members of the party will see its youthful energy as an asset and dance to its own tune rather than being a youth party that dances to the same old music of the status quo.

He said by lifting the youth in this party, Syed Saddiq would have the means to elevate youth all over the country.

“Hopefully, they can bring a new narrative for the Malaysian story that is new, fresh, and away from the tired old story we have been rehashing over the years,” he said.

“There will always be problems with nation building, but let’s have different problems.”

The split in Bersatu earlier this year resulted in the creation of two new political movements.

Dr Mahathir founded Pejuang, while Syed Saddiq has announced plans for a new youth-led political party.

Lay down policy goals

Johanna Mason, 21. said, while it is good to have youth representation in the government to solve issues like unemployment, she doubts that it will help minority groups in Malaysia struggling with acceptance issues, such as the LGBTQ community.

Despite this, she agreed that bringing more youth into politics will increase awareness among young people such as herself.

“Growing up, I heard a lot about corruption and was not interested in anything about politics but with Syed Saddiq there and him being involved in our creative outlets like multiple social media platforms, it makes it a little more interesting.”

Sarah Salleh, 23, told The Malaysian Insight she thinks a youth party is a good move “because we need the voice of youth in the political scene”.

Sarah who works as a barista said when there are educated young people in government, youth would have more access to simple and basic things that actually cater to their needs.

“I honestly don’t know what the existing parties are up to but I know based on what I’ve been seeing in the media, they’re no good,” she said.

Sarah believes a youth party would have a profound impact on the younger generation in pushing for reforms and fighting for youth issues.

“So, to see someone around my age making statements and changes that I could relate to is huge. I would give my full support.”

Public affairs executive Nauwar Syukri said the proposal is intriguing but it raises more questions than answers.

“Does a youth party mean that there is an age cap on membership? What are its policy goals? How does it plan to achieve those goals? How will it appeal to voters who aren’t youth?” she said.

“At the moment, without details on how this party plans to win elections, what its policy goals are, and what its long-term plan is for the young people it will represent, I can’t really know what it can and cannot do,” she added.

The 27-year-old said she does not believe that representation would automatically lead to good policy outcomes for demographic groups.

“It’s not that simple,” she said.

“Personally, I’m fatigued. 2020 has been exhausting even without Covid-19. The idea of real reform feels very far away.”

However, Nauwar said a youth party can boost the visibility of promising young leaders, with which most existing parties still struggle.

“A youth party has much greater potential for cultivating talent and ensuring that young Malaysians have a strong political platform, compared to existing parties where young people are shunned to youth wings and given positions with less influence.

“I think it can increase youth participation in politics. I would be curious to see their strategy for reaching out to young people in non-urban or semi-urban constituencies.”

Seat challenges

Darren Arvid, 24, has reservations on whether the youth party would be able to follow through with its promises.

“Starting it is the easiest step. Having to achieve what it stands for and what it should be doing for the people is another thing altogether,” said the project manager.

“It has the potential to meet the demands of the youth, yes. Can it follow through or will it be like all the other parties that started out on good intentions?”

He said the youth party needs to bring in a new perspective and procedure when getting things are done which the older generation has evidently not been doing based on obsolete methods.

Ooi Kok Hin, a political analyst based at Waseda University, told The Malaysian Insight Syed Saddiq’s new party will need to generate enough momentum to pressure and negotiate with Pakatan Harapan to give way in some seats.

Its performance depends on these negotiations, he said.

“Malaysia’s current electoral system is mostly a two-party contest and does not favour the third contestant/party,” he said.

“We saw examples of this during GE14 where tactical voting resulted in disastrous performance by PSM in Sg Siput, PH in Kelantan and Terengganu, and PAS in Penang, Johor, and Selangor.”

Ooi also said no matter how great the expectations the party may possess, it could not avoid being embroiled in the mess of coalition politics.

“It’s reviving interest at a time when people are getting cynical of personality tussles in politics. Anything that increases youth political participation is helping our democracy to grow.” – September 12, 2020.