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Muda: New generation must rise for M'sia to roar as 'Asian tiger' again

Muda: New generation must rise for M'sia to roar as 'Asian tiger' again
Muda: New generation must rise for M'sia to roar as 'Asian tiger' again

INTERVIEW | Muda was formed in the aftermath of the Sheraton Move, with the aim of providing a youth-centric, multi-racial political platform as an alternative to those disillusioned with familiar faces and tired ideas.

It seemed telling that in the early days of Muda’s conception, the party struggled to receive recognition from the Registrar of Societies (ROS).

On Aug 12, 2020, Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin denied Muda’s appeal for registration. The denial led the group to withdraw its second legal action which sought to compel the minister to decide on its appeal for registration after alleged delays in decision-making.

Its first legal challenge to get registered was rejected as the party had not gone through the Home Ministry's appeal process.

Along with that came other challenges which the party fought against - with some viewing Muda as a political gimmick and vehicle for Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

However, things have changed. On Dec 14, 2021, Muda won its long court battle against the Home Ministry - with the High Court ordering Hamzah's ministry to register Muda as a political party within 14 days.

In an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini, some of the Muda co-founders - Dr Thanussha Francis Xavier, Amira Aisya Abd Aziz, Amir Abdul Hadi, Lim Wei Jiet, and Shahrizal Denci - spoke on what they think Muda can bring to the table.

Aside from being youth-orientated, how ideologically coherent would you say Muda is? It seems to be progressive - is that a fair characterisation? What sets Muda apart from other parties?

Thanussha: Yes, progressive is fair. Disruptive would be more accurate. I believe we are challenging the status quo and defining our own brand of politics, one that is service-oriented and focused on the needs of the people.

What sets Muda apart from other parties? We are youth-led, we have term limits for all positions, thus ensuring that there is room for new leaders.

We have no youth wings or women wings, thus everyone has a place and say in the central leadership. We also have a cap for political funding.

Amira: Muda aims to be the party of today and the party of the future. Progressive is definitely one way to describe Muda. We hold close to our five tenets: democratic representation, economic justice, new politics, human dignity and a party for all Malaysians.

I always say to our Muda members that Muda has to do away with politics of hate and personal attacks. We have to focus on politics of service, politics of policy and politics of virtue.

Shahrizal: Muda is a policy-based political party; that means we want to champion policies that will be beneficial to the rakyat. We also encourage and champion politik khidmat - politics that serve the people and not the other way around.

What sets us apart is we are a digital-native party where we utilise technologies and make decisions based on data.

I think it is proven by how we handled the recent flood disaster; after we analysed the situation, we quickly set up a command centre to manage and distribute aid across the affected areas.

Lim: I don't understand why we need to fit in to be pigeonholed into a specific ideology. I don't see why we need to think (that way).

What Muda stands for is, first and foremost, a very progressive, youth-centric kind of politics that departs from all kinds of politics.

That's the very reason why Muda was formed because we were so sick of the same players from the 70s and the 80s (who are) still dictating policies, still holding the cards and still bringing this culture and baggage of the old politics.

That is something that we want to change and that's what we desperately need.

If you want to go into the nitty-gritty, we do support economic justice for people. We believe that there should be a more equal distribution of wealth while maintaining Malaysia as a business-friendly destination.

We do believe very strongly about the environment.

As you can see from the floods, it really is interconnected with the economy and the livelihood of people, so we want to adopt very pro-green, environmentally friendly policies to differentiate ourselves from other parties out there.

We believe in multiracialism and multiculturalism. Being a non-bumiputera, I know how important it is because, for the past many years, we see an uprising of a very extremist, racist kind of narrative and politics that is peddled by the usual suspects to try to split Malaysians.

That's really not the Malaysia that I want to live in, or what I want my daughter to live in.

Are there any links between Muda and the Undi18 movement or Lawan?

Amira: Having shared the same values and principles, we do have a close relationship to the Undi18 movement and Lawan movement but we are not the only ones involved in those movements nor will we ever claim to be the ones who created those movements.

Those are the people’s movements and we are as involved in those movements as the rest of Malaysians.

I believe that the youth are definitely rising and more movements will be created to have a healthy check-and-balance upon the government and all political parties. This is something we should all celebrate.

Thanussha: Lawan and Undi18 are movements by the people. We are very supportive of youth-led movements and have played our part in ensuring that young people's voices are heard.

Lim: Undi18 is a society that played a very important role in lowering the voting age from 21 to 18. I think Syed Saddiq worked closely with them during his term as youth and sports minister.

I was one of their lawyers in fighting one of their court cases - which managed to order the government to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 by December last year.

So we work with them, but we are not beholden or dictated by them in any sense of the word.

For Lawan, from what I understand, it is led by Sekretariat Solidariti Rakyat (SSR) and that secretariat comprises several NGOs. It just so happens that some of our leaders are a part of that secretariat but Muda is not officially part of it.

To say that we are related somehow is not really fair because Muda is not part of the secretariat.

Amir: Undi18 and Lawan are independent entities. Despite that, Muda has been indirectly involved through - for example - Syed Saddiq, who presented the Undi18 Bill in Parliament when he was still the youth and sports minister.

I, myself, along with other leaders, attended the Lawan rally and we were investigated by the police for it.

Shahrizal: We have good relationships with Undi18 and Lawan, but we are separate entities. I believe a lot of them are very idealistic and they, like us, want what’s best for this country.

Do you think the electoral changes will help the party?

Amira: I think the electoral changes are just as helpful to Muda as it is to any other party. Looking at the past two state elections (in Sarawak and Malacca), we can clearly see that the people are suffering from political fatigue, causing low voter turnout.

Despite automatic voter registration (AVR) being in place, there’s a lot of work to be done to spark back that hope and ensure that people actually go out to practise their democratic rights and vote for the party that they believe can best represent their interests.

Thanussha: Electoral changes will challenge all parties in ensuring that they adapt to include young people in leadership and champion policies that benefit young people.

Lim: Yes and no. If you look at recent trends in Malacca, for example, the youth votes were going to Perikatan Nasional in Malacca.

So, to say and to assume that younger voters will automatically vote for Pakatan Harapan or a progressive party like Muda is not a given.

We have to definitely do a lot of work in the future to try to convince them to vote for Muda. No doubt, we resonate better with younger people, because that is the reason why we exist, which is to give a platform for the youths.

We tried to use social media and many other means to try to reach out to the young. But I always tell myself and the people around me that social media is only part of reality and a lot of people's views...

There are lost fragments of Malaysians who need to be reached through different means, through door-to-door, through community efforts and through helping the underprivileged.

That's how you reach the hearts and minds of not only the young but many other people across all age groups.

Shahrizal: I think the electoral changes will definitely help the party. It is good for young people to finally have the opportunity to decide for their future.

There are many veteran MPs who have been in public service for 40-50 years. Is it time for sweeping changes?

Shahrizal: I thank the veteran MPs for their public service and contributions, as they have done a lot for Malaysia.

However, I think it’s timely for Malaysia to see new faces and leaders leading the country.

Amir: I personally feel that it is time for Malaysia to be led by a new generation. For the last 30 years, Malaysian politics has been controlled by the same group of individuals.

I believe that for Malaysia to move forward and return as the ‘Asian tiger’, space must be made for new faces and a new generation.

Whichever party, it does not matter - whether it's the government or the opposition.

Thanussha: It will be great to see fresh faces and what other leaders in existing parties bring to the table - if given the opportunity to lead.

It's timely for Malaysia to see new faces and leaders leading the country.

Amira: Definitely. I believe that every party has exceptional people who can take over the mantle of leadership. Changes have to happen in order to create healthy politics and do away with individualism.

Lim: I do think that a more fresh and dynamic leadership needs to emerge to bring Malaysia out of where it is today.

I think a lot of the problems that Malaysia is facing now, which are terrible in nature, stem from old politics, from leaders refusing to step down, even though it's already beyond their time.

It’s really time for new blood to come to provide leadership to Malaysia. That's what I believe.

If you had to guess, how many seats do you think Muda might contest in GE15?

Amira: Frankly speaking, Muda has not made any consensus on seats for the election. Our focus right now is to build this party, draft our tenets and policies, attract more members across all races and religions and provide checks and balances to the government.

Amir: This is still under discussion and it’s too early to say. What is certain is that Muda will contest in the next general election in state and parliamentary seats.


This is Part 2 of a three-part series on the leaders of Muda.

Part 1: Meet the faces behind Muda was published yesterday while Part 3 will be published tomorrow.