Banking on diversity, Muda’s 23-year-old Melanie Ting eyes upset in Bukit Antarabangsa

KUALA LUMPUR, July 27 — Melanie Ting is a 23-year-old fresh law graduate from Shah Alam whose only professional experience was as the chief of staff of Malaysian United Democratic Alliance’s (Muda) Central Information Team for the past seven months.

Her age and lack of experience alone would have made her a political outlier. Ting is less than half the median age of MPs elected at the 14th general election, and she’s also a woman. In the 14th term, women made up just a fifth of representatives in the Selangor state legislature.

Yet come August 12, Ting would make an ambitious bid for the Bukit Antarabangsa state seat. One of two seats within the Ampang parliamentary constituency, the seat would likely be among several battleground constituencies in the polls for Selangor. PKR has held the seat through three terms since 2008.

These are hard facts that Ting and her team clearly know. But the 23-year-old believes some of what her opponents see as disadvantages could play into her strength. Ting said her young age could provide a fresh take on politics for an electorate that has grown tired of the status quo.

“When I decided to stand in Bukit Antarabangsa, I didn’t see it as a hot seat,” Ting told Malay Mail in a recent interview.

“I looked at the background, age group and I felt that it’s very diverse and I feel there’s a younger candidate to contest here because I feel I represent the different personality that they may want.”

At the time represented by then Selangor menteri besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, PKR won Bukit Antarabangsa in the 14th general election with over 25,000 majority votes, a landslide victory that underpinned the party and Pakatan Harapan’s growing clout among the country’s urban voters.

Azmin has since quit the party, and is now in Perikatan Nasional’s Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.

At the 15th general election, Azmin failed to defend his Gombak parliamentary seat, which borders Bukit Antarabangsa, but he still garnered a respectable amount of votes, losing to now outgoing menteri besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari by 12,000 votes.

Ting will not face him on August 12, however, as PN announced last night that Azmin would instead contest in the Hulu Kelang seat.

Even with Azmin out of the way, Ting will still face a stiff challenge due to being in a party that lacks the deep pockets to face opponents like PKR.

Still, she said she is optimistic that Bukit Antarabangsa voters would embrace anyone if that person is sincere about serving the community, even if she is not from around there, an issue that opponents are more than likely to crop up during the two-week campaign trail that starts July 29.

“I understand that [criticism] but we’ve been going down on the ground for weeks now and I’m getting to know the issues, then my team [members] are from around here,” she said.

“It doesn’t matter where I come from, so many politicians come from different places but have represented seats they’re not from so I guess it’s not about whether I grew up here but I want to serve Bukit Antarabangsa.”

Ting studied law at the HELP University but has yet to practice. Like most from her generation, she cared little about politics until the Covid-19 pandemic hit and almost the entire world went into lockdown.

Ting said she is optimistic that Bukit Antarabangsa voters would embrace anyone if that person is sincere about serving the community, even if she is not from around there. — Picture by Firdaus Latif

Witnessing the suffering that followed, Ting said it got her to care more about her surroundings and began to devote more time to volunteering for community work and organising.

She eventually joined Muda in 2021, because she was drawn to the energy of its mostly very young members who were already actively serving marginalised and poor communities.

“I studied law and when I came across constitutional law my interest in politics peaked. And then the MCO started, the [2021] floods happened,” she said, referring to the Covid-19 lockdown called movement control order by the government.

“Then Muda was formed, so that to me was very appealing. A young political party that’s very vocal and I felt that my personality does suit Muda and that’s where I channelled myself into.”

Ting said she believes the two-year experience she gained from volunteerism and organising should be enough to prepare her for state duties but her opponents would likely think otherwise.

Serving a state constituency is no easy feat and Ting will have to face far more complex problems in the course of her work should Bukit Antarabangsa voters elect her into office. Still, she’s optimistic.

“I understand the hardship that’s going to come but as a young person that is willing to learn, to talk and listen to people on the ground, I am ready to face the hardship and serve the voters here,” Ting said.