Muda’s Syed Saddiq to PKR’s Rafizi Ramli: the figures who could shake up Malaysian politics

Since the watershed 2018 polls, political parties have been scrambling to reinvigorate their line-ups to meet heightened voter expectations

Up-and-coming names include the reformist Rafizi Ramli from PKR, DAP’s diversity-driven Anthony Loke, while Syed Saddiq from Muda is eyeing the youth vote

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Syed Saddiq bin Syed Abdul Rahman. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 11:00am, 11 Sep 2022

Malaysian politics for the last several decades have been largely dominated by the same figures, such as former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and his one-time protégé Anwar Ibrahim, whose feud in 1998 continues to shape the governing landscape until today, almost 25 years later.

These heavyweights remain deeply embedded in the nation’s politics, feeding a sense of cynicism among voters who until recently were hopeful of some change to the status quo after the makeshift Pakatan Harapan (PH) alliance in the 2018 national election unseated the powerful Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition from some six decades of power.

Those hopes fell flat after a political coup two years later brought leaders from BN – in particular, those from coalition linchpin Umno – back into government. Current Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob is an Umno vice-president and had held several different ministerial portfolios before their fall from power.

Anwar Ibrahim and Mahathir Mohamad teamed up in the 2018 election to defeat the powerful Barisan Nasional coalition. File photo: EPA-EFE

But the milestone election also marked a shift in political mores. Parties are now under greater pressure to meet voter demands, fuelled further by a shift in demographics as millions of new, younger voters are added to the electoral roll. This has raised the stakes for political parties, which are scrambling to line their ranks with fresher – and younger – leaders to dazzle the new and reinvigorate the disillusioned.

Here are some figures who may end up reshaping the political landscape in Malaysia.

Rafizi Ramli, PKR

Rafizi Ramli, deputy president of the People’s Justice Party (PKR) in Malaysia. Photo: Handout

People’s Justice Party (PKR) president Anwar Ibrahim, 75, remains the top figure in the opposition camp. But lately, his deputy president Rafizi Ramli has been gaining attention from voters who see him as a true reformist that made his mark exposing corruption scandals.