YOUTH-LED Sekretariat Solidariti Rakyat (SSR) is the next viable movement to organise street protests and rally the people to voice their dissatisfaction of the government, political analysts said.

However, this comes with the caveat that the group needs a different strategy, such as a more inclusive approach in terms of socio-economic background and age for it to have a bigger impact.

Some analysts also criticised the group and questioned if they knew what exactly they were fighting for, wondering if they were mature enough to fight for the country.

However, political analyst Oh Ei Sun, has faith in SSR and told The Malaysian Insight they are developing into a version of electoral watchdog Bersih, which has been quiet since Perikatan Nasional took over last year.

“There is a vacuum for a movement, which is more proactive in taking to the streets. This solidarity movement fills that gap,” Oh said.

He added that, while SSR is currently led by youths and is most attractive to the younger generation, as the country’s political turmoil plays out, the movement will gain more support from dissatisfied Malaysians.

“As time passes by and as the political turmoil continues, people of all ages and backgrounds are likely to take to the streets. As SSR is the most viable organiser, they would indeed catch on.”

Oh added SSR had the advantage of a decentralised structure, which allows the group to regroup even when its leaders are subjected to police investigations and arrest.

“Of course, this structure sometimes also makes the movement scattered. They have to strike a balance between the decentralised structure and the need for a more centralised leadership.”

Last Saturday, SSR organised the #Lawan rally at Dataran Merdeka. The group is demanding that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin step down, for Parliament to convene and for an automatic loan moratorium to ease the economic hardship brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The group had initially organised the #BenderaHitam protest on social media on July 3 and encouraged Malaysians to fly a black flag to show their dissatisfaction of the government.

This was followed by a smaller protest in Dataran Merdeka on July 17 and a black flag convoy on Saturday.

Ilham Centre director Hisommudin Bakar said, while SSR is organising these protests online as well as on the streets, the group still lacks influence.

He said in order for SSR to be a historical movement, it needed to break away from its “Bangsar bubble” image.

“Based on my observation, this movement involves youths in the urban areas. Therefore, they are not able to have as much influence.

“They need to have a strong spirit to campaign for what they believe in, otherwise they will be overwhelmed by the sceptics and pessimists who have essentially branded them as a ‘Bangsar bubble’ movement.

“They need to expand their influence until it becomes a phenomenon and only then will the movement make history,” he said.

Hisommudin added that SSR needs to do better in conveying its message and be better organised for protests, given that we are still in the midst of a pandemic.

“My concern is that this movement will not create any waves as it is limited to a small group. If they can express their message in a better and bolder way, perhaps this movement will have an impact on the country.”

Meanwhile, Universiti Malaysia Sabah senior lecturer Lee Kuok Tiung said that SSR was a movement with a political agenda and is politically driven.

“With all the corpses they carry and the obscene gestures of the hands, I doubt they’re mature enough to fight for our nation or any public interest issues.

“Frankly speaking, I don’t know what’s the message they are trying to bring, except the deviant attitude and acts that they show,” he said.

Lee was commenting on the corpse effigies the group carried in their rallies to symbolise the number of people who had died of Covid-19. The group alleged that Putrajaya had made a hash of trying to bring the pandemic under control.

Lee added that the group needs to do its research on what exactly they are advocating and send that message across clearly to Malaysians.

Since the protest last Saturday, the group and those who took part in the protest have been criticised for taking to the streets while the country is grappling with a surge of Covid-19 cases and the healthcare system is on the brink of collapse.

However, the group stood its ground and said it will organise a bigger rally if its demands are not met. – August 4, 2021.