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Is Malaysian politics dominated by older men?
Following what 95-year-old Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad commented on Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman’s proposed youth-focused party, it is.
The founder of Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) told the 28-year-old politician, his former protégé in Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, that he did not trust the Muar MP’s youth-led party to be successful in a general election.
The former prime minister said that while the yet-to-be-named or formed party could garner substantial support from young people, it probably isn’t enough to win. The support of the old voters, apparently based on the logic of Dr. Mahathir, was necessary to win the election.
On what she thought of the derogatory opinion of the Langkawi MP about Syed Saddiq’s party, political scientist Bridget Welsh said that Dr. Mahathir was 95 years old and does not understand young people.
“It shows the age of Dr. Mahathir. And the fact is that youth representation and leadership, in terms of younger leaders and youth preparation, are areas where Dr. Mahathir has not performed as well. “said Welsh, an honorary research associate at the University. from Nottingham, the Asian Research Institute of Malaysia (Unari) based in Kuala Lumpur.
On whether the youth-led party could win over old voters, Welsh argued that Dr. Mahathir was right, as some would not. However, he said some would, as it depended on which platform Syed Saddiq’s party was on. He also noted that there were many undecided voters in Malaysia.
Welsh noted that Syed Saddiq’s party was already having an impact by mobilizing young people. “It makes them think about politics. It gives them a way to get involved in the problems and draws attention to the problems of the youth, which is important since they make up 40% of the electorate,” he said, adding that with Undi18 the number increase. 50%.
“It is having an impact because people are fed up with the current political parties on the other side of the political divide. And within these political parties, the youth are not adequately represented. And therefore, in a sense, the voice of the youth have been excluded, “he said. said.
However, Universiti Malaya political analyst Dr. Muhammad Asri Mohd Ali shared Dr. Mahathir’s opinion.
Muhammad Asri believed that the proposed youth-led party could not attract new voters. He listed two reasons.
1) All the dominant parties in Malaysia are for some reason based on ethnicity and anchored to the region. For example, DAP in Penang, PAS in the Malaysian belt and PKR in Selangor. He said that these areas were difficult to penetrate.
2) Syed Saddiq is not related to any other cause than the youth problem. “What if he gets old? And almost all political parties have youth wings,” he said.
Syed Saddiq has been courteous in his response to his mentor, tweeting “Thank you, Tun. We accept criticism with open hearts. This is a youth-led match for all Malaysians.”
He could have told Dr. Mahathir that Malaysia was not “a country for the elderly.”
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