COMMENT | Can Syed Saddiq’s political party define the youth agenda?

“That’s the duty of the old, to be anxious on behalf of the young. And the duty of the young is to scorn the anxiety of the old.”

- Philip Pullman

COMMENT | I am not going over the litany of missteps that Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman made when he was a young minister, nor am I going to indulge in the various conspiracy theories floating around that question his move to create a new youth party.

I do want to understand how this new party will operate in a political terrain dominated by entrenched narratives of race and religion, and how this new party intends to separate itself from those toxic narratives.

Syed Saddiq was part of a government that finally lowered the voting age to 18 and while we have no idea how this politically-bankrupt new backdoor government will implement this, Syed Saddiq can legitimately claim to be one of the diverse (if compromised) voices representing the youth of Malaysia.

IIUM political science assistant professor Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd Mokhtar, said something important when discussing the viability of Syed Saddiq’s new youth movement.

He said, "I have not seen the youth identity yet. Meaning (an identity where) youth across gender and ethnicity can have a similar outlook on certain issues. That one has yet to develop."

I somewhat agree with this but I do think it is important to remember how...