REFORMASI veteran Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad will not lose sleep if Pakatan Harapan loses federal power in the next general election.‎

It is not that the newly elected federal lawmaker doubts PH can deliver on its promises to govern Malaysia better than Barisan Nasional.

He just believes that if PH is voted out of power in the 15th general election, it means that Malaysians are no longer afraid of replacing those who do not serve them.

“I believe we will do well. But if we don’t, we will be kicked out and another party will take our place. People will no longer be scared of changing governments in Malaysia,” Nik Nazmi told The Malaysian Insight.

“I think that is the main point, which is beyond my job security, but about making change in the country,” said the PH Youth chief.

“And, I believe that this is what Malaysia has needed for so long, and this is what other countries have. Indonesia, Taiwan, South Korea. Where changing parties is something normal. That is my hope.”

Nik Nazmi was an active member of the reformasi generation – Malaysians who became politically conscious during the heady days of 1998, following the sacking of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim from government.

Nik Nazmi was only 19 when he first started helping Anwar, who was jailed for abuse of power and sodomy by Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Anwar has always said he was “fixed” by Dr Mahathir as part of a political conspiracy.

He also ran one of the earliest and most well-known pro-reformasi blogs, Suara Anum, and was a fledgling student leader in Parti Keadilan Nasional, the precursor to today’s PKR.

After he graduated from law school at King’s College London in 2005, he returned and worked for government-linked investment company Permodalan Nasional Bhd.

A year later, he joined Anwar’s office full-time as a private secretary.

In 2008, he stood and won on the PKR ticket in the Seri Setia constituency, an urban seat in the then Kelana Jaya parliamentary area.

“I was 26, the youngest Adun (state legislator) or MP to have won in that election,” said the father of one.

He was political secretary to former Selangor menteri besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim from 2008 to 2010. He left to become PKR’s communications director, a post he held till 2013.

Somewhere in between those years, he wrote his first book, Looking Forward, Malays in the 21st Century, which advocated for the community to abandon the crutch mentality.

When he was re-elected in GE13, Nik Nazmi was made deputy speaker of the Selangor legislature at the age of 31.

In 2014, when Mohamed Azmin Ali took over as Selangor menteri besar, Nik Nazmi was made executive councillor for education.

Now that he is a federal lawmaker, Nik Nazmi wants to push for reforms in how the federal territories, including Kuala Lumpur, are administered, and stamp out urban poverty.

But, there is another policy that remains close to his heart – making English Premier League (EPL) matches free for viewing on government channel RTM.

The plan was part of the PH Youth manifesto, but it received lots of flak as the games are a luxury. After all, licences to air EPL games cost billions a year.

In Malaysia, subscription TV operator Astro owns the licence.

But, Nik Nazmi said it can be done, just like in Indonesia and Thailand.

“The trick is sublicensing. You don’t buy the whole licence. You buy a sublicence from Astro to air select matches, not all the games. I think it is feasible.” – May 28, 2018.