KUALA LUMPUR – A new youth-based party, aptly named Muda, may not gain public traction yet, but it has a selling point other political parties lack.
In an attempt to be more inclusive, the party led by former youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, has embarked on a nationwide roadshow to get feedback and opinions, prior to its registration with the Registrar of Societies (RoS) on September 17.
“In terms of policies and the like, that will be revealed at a later date. It is unfair if I alone make that call. It’s not supposed to be a party for me, but a party for the people.
“That’s why we have these engagements so the people’s input, views and ideologies can be part of our policies. Most importantly, the party must be disruptive (to the country’s politics),” he told The Vibes.
In other words, Muda (or Malaysian United Democratic Alliance) is drawing up its policies and ideas from scratch and getting the grassroots to participate in the process.
This is a different set-up than most major political associations in the country that have set up their parties with a direction and ideology already in place.
How things are normally done
This is not to say that other parties do not go to the ground to obtain feedback, but they typically do so after having already laid out the groundwork of their respective organisations.
Take Bersatu for instance, the party that was co-founded by Syed Saddiq. Before the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration, he was Bersatu’s youth chief.
Even before it was launched, Malaysians already had an inkling of what the party stood for and why it was formed.
Its then chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had on numerous occasions said the party, like Umno, would be exclusive to, and would champion, the Bumiputeras, but also offered a platform for those who were against corruption.
After PH’s collapse in February, Dr Mahathir recently formed Parti Pejuang Tanah Air, which has a similar direction and ideology with Bersatu.
PKR too, was formed with a cause, to seek political and economic reform based on justice for all Malaysians regardless of race.
Having a set direction and policies before going official gives the public a general idea of what the party stands for and allows Malaysians to make a more informed decision before opting to join or support.
Grassroots engagement
But in the case of Muda, Malaysians know very little about the party other than it will be multiracial and youth-centric.
Before registering with RoS, the group conducted close to 60 engagement sessions around the country and is planning to do more.
“The fact that we have been having engagements before forming is a good indicator. Look at how other parties were founded. PKR, DAP, Bersatu – they were all founded immediately. We are trying our best to be as inclusive as possible,” said Syed Saddiq.
He added that Muda will treat everyone as equals, regardless of age, background and gender, and it is why it has opted against having a women’s wing.
On concerns that its 30 initial members will take up top leadership positions, Syed Saddiq said this will not be the case as their current positions are “provisional”.
“In fact, we will conduct another round of ‘jelajah’ (roadshows) to find and groom leaders who will lead the party.”
Decisions will be collective
One of Muda’s founding members, Jean Vaneisha, said after collecting feedback from the grassroots, the party will hold a congress to discuss and debate the ideas, before finally formulating its policies and objectives.
She added that not all suggestions and proposals will be accepted, but every decision made in the future will be a collective one.
“Everything is not set in stone. We will hear all the grievances, be it bread and butter issues or education, and later packet them into themes for us to discuss.
“We will be getting responses from representatives from each region, and we may do something like ‘Parlimen Digital’. We will try our best to reach a consensus on every issue,” she said. – The Vibes, September 29, 2020
The article is written by Amar Shah Mohsen and Arjun Mohanakrishnan.
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