RIGHT now, in true Merdeka spirit, we can celebrate one thing, at least. There is an emergence of youth with new vibrant energy, brains and talent, and will to politically assert themselves while seeking better governance.
Surely, the youth’s enthusiasm should be celebrated on the 64th anniversary of our independence.
Since September 2018, the Home Ministry has been rejecting the registration of multiracial youth party Muda without providing any reasons.
Muda was co-founded by former youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, and had immediate robust engagement with almost 30,000 social media users. Syed Saddiq and other co-founders, such as Dr Mathen Nair and Amir Abdul Hadi, actively, fearlessly and openly question the system on current issues.
Not registering this party is undemocratic.
Not surprisingly, this registration document could have been in a locked drawer of some officer in the Home Ministry who would have looked at it disinterestedly, before putting it back.
For instance, just after the youth protested peacefully for good governance and accountability, the police were sent to their homes to conduct investigations right in the midst of a pandemic and lockdown.
These kinds of actions will be on our human rights record and attract the international limelight.
Two wrongs don’t make a right. Three wrongs do not make much sense. They only reinforce and add to the present myriad flaws in our system.
Undoubtedly, this group will question and counter the present system with pessimism, cynicism and feel even more fiercely for atonement. Will that anger and resentment surface in the next election?
There will come a time when the youth’s intelligence will outstrip some of the former leaders’ political instincts for survival, using the present lifeline. The youth do not have the patience to wait for all those pending charges to be cleared and the books squared.
To give a fresh perspective to the new government, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob should leverage on the youth’s willingness to work within the framework of a formal registered party, engage and listen to their causes.
It is time for the new government to correct old mistakes with new perspectives.
Who knows? These youth may churn enough public interest and, together, we may even create magic for the nation.
In the last three Malaysian general elections, the youth voter turnout has been relatively high, standing at 80% during the 2018 general election. Many of them played a vibrant and robust role in the 2018 elections, and all they wanted was for their voices and ideas to be heard.
Since then, they have been observing the system with scrutiny. What they saw was the image of a cracked mirror, which had single-mindedly contradicted the moral core they were brought up with.
Sadly, many may not know there were a different genre of prime ministers and leaders who had left a different quality of legacies. It was their qualities and actions, their charisma, education, moral conscientiousness and global awareness that defined Malaysia then.
Let us do a brief flashback to rejuvenate the Merdeka feeling.
It was our first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra al-Haj, who headed this movement, to free us from the colonial yoke. Post-independence, he wove together a smart cabinet and a government, while he took the young nation to the next level of post-independence.
He had to with the limited resources he had. He also had to work against incongruent desires of the diverse racial groups and ideologies. Yet, he united them together and enabled us to walk together with national dignity of inclusiveness.
Tun Abdul Razak Hussein served as the second prime minister and is referred to as the “father of development” as he introduced modern infrastructure and progressive ideas to Malaysia.
Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman is known as “the best PM we never had”. He did not make it as prime minister because of his health.
He kept extremism at bay, embodied the philosophy of moderation spelt out in the Rukun Negara, and represented the new nation as ambassador to the United States, Britain and the United Nations. He gained great respect internationally with his high level of English literacy and intellectual clarity, while representing our nation’s success.
Just after the riots of May 13, 1969, the National Operations Council of Tun Razak, Tun Dr Ismail, Tun Tan Siew Sin, Tun V.T. Sambanthan reassembled a wounded nation, redefined it and hauled this nation out of the deepest abyss it had ever fallen into.
They cared. They loved the nation. They were all realistic, dignified and would be disheartened by what is happening today.
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, at his time, did tower over Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, Suharto of Indonesia, Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines, and others who dictated the fate of their people.
He was obsessed with turning Malaysia into a modern, fully developed and recognised nation. He built impressive infrastructure and lessened Malaysia’s dependence on commodities.
Dr Mahathir did not directly participate in many of the corruption practices that spread freely and widely in his time. However, they became entrenched during his watch.
Sadly, this is a legacy that weighs down everything else that he has done for the country.
In the 1990s, Malaysia was ranked among the Asian Tigers. It was a case study to countries in the Asean region and some African nations relating to the setting up of infrastructure, institutions of governance and sound economic master plans to uplift its citizens.
Many had chosen to emulate Dr Mahathir’s Malaysian model.
Now is the time for the next generation to recalibrate to the ideal Malaysia it once was.
An example to cite here is former US president Barack Obama’s strategy, where he built a huge database of young people who were interested in politics, engaged them and surged up youth participation in his victory.
Youth are under-represented in Malaysian politics, though they make up more than 60% of the population. There are about 4.4 million individuals aged 21 and above who are eligible to vote but are yet to register as voters.
“Youth need a platform to speak, voice their opinions and be decision-makers. We want to help shape the direction of political institutions as well as the direction of the nation itself.
“Younger MPs that can represent the voices of the youth in Parliament,” said Muda vice-president Dr Thanussha Francis Xavier.
Whatever happens in the next few months, they will not give up their dreams and commitments. They are ready to make the bold step.
Not engaging them is a colossal failure of common sense. – The Vibes, August 31, 2021
Puan Sri Vasanthi Ramachandran is an author, columnist and runs an the Helping Hands NGO
