MUDA riding on calls for more 'youth' in politics
The party of Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman is riding on recent calls for the inclusion of more youth in local politics.
The Perikatan Nasional or PN’s coming to power in Malaysia with a large number of older folks as minister got some people thinking.
The younger generation of Malaysians started to call for change in the political landscape. They think ex-ministers like Syed Saddiq did well during their tenure in the cabinet.
They also believe the older generation are abusing their time and taking the youth of the country for a ride.
AGE LIMIT
Many are calling for a cap in the age of those doing politics, some saying the over 60 year olds should simply be banned.
“Ban the 60 year olds. They should not be doing politics. The age limit should be below 60,” says an activist on Twitter.
For many in the younger generation, it was excruciating to see how democracy was fading in Malaysia.
They blame the democratic ‘collapse’ on the return of the old order to power.
Ex-PM Mahathir Mohamad is also heavily blamed for the Pakatan Harapan’s exit from power.
His resignation is seen as the cause for the return of the Umno to power. The Umno, PAS and the PH have very few youthful figures among them.
Many of the younger politicians in the PH jumped ship to form a new government with the old power houses.
This made some activists on Twitter and Linkedin to argue that politicians should not be older than 60.
7000 MEMBERS
As for Syed Saddiq’s party, the Malaysia United Democratic Alliance or MUDA, it claims to have added 7000 members in one day.
The leader, Syed Saddiq believes it is Umno lawmaker Nazri Abdul Aziz’s disparaging remarks about him that helped boost his party’s membership.
After the Padang Rengas MP called him “naive and immature”, Muda received 7,000 membership applications within 12 hours.
Syed Saddiq says the party has no age limit and does not bar any race from joining it.
Nazri says all parties in Malaysia have their own youth divisions and Umno Youth is a very strong movement.
He asks whether the Umno Youth will, “abandon Umno and support this party? No way.”