Opinion | Why Syed Saddiq’s new youth-centric party will not help Malaysia’s political tussle

The country’s former youth and sports minister is looking to shake up the ugly power struggle so ‘politics will never be monopolised by the same people’

But while change is sorely needed in Malaysia, the better solution might be for existing parties to give young people their due

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Syed Saddiq says his new party will ensure “youth’s voice will dominate in parliament and outside of parliament”. Photo: SCMP/Nora Tam

Published: 8:00am, 28 Aug 2020Updated: 1:04am, 18 Dec 2020

What’s the best way to wipe out political dinosaurs who are holding back change?

In Malaysia, where an ugly tussle for power among sprightly political warlords is fuelling the youth’s deep antipathy towards politics, this question was heatedly debated this week.

Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, the country’s loquacious former youth and sports minister, set tongues wagging this past weekend as he revealed a potential asteroid for the political landscape: his idea for a new youth-centric movement.

The 27-year-old said the party – yet to be named or formed – would be modelled after France’s En Marche and the now-defunct Future Forward Party (FFP) of Thailand.

A youth grouping was “timely today so that politics will never be chained by the same people, being controlled and monopolised by the same people”, Syed Saddiq said.