Will youth-centric political party be relevant in the domestic politics?

AS a millennial, I have been desiring to see a creation of youth-membered political party that can be competitive in winning electoral battles that have been traditionally won by same-face oldies.

Recently, the youngest man in the former federal cabinet of Pakatan Harapan, Syed Saddiq, announced his intention of creating a special-for-youth political party in the near future.

Frankly saying, the idea isn’t just being excitingly wished by many, but it also triggers a curiosity that will that party be favoured by voters?

It is very hard to believe that a new political party, especially youth-centric one, can be relevant in the domestic political ambience in the long run when majority of long-lived voters are too sticky to long-breathed parties like UMNO, PKR and DAP.

Therefore, the biggest question is, how could the Syed Saddiq-led youth party survive in the future’s general elections when rural seats have been largely monopolised by well-developed parties, while in many urban areas, DAP and PKR are still being liked?

It’s not factual to say that there have been no long-sustained political parties that don’t entrust youths to be in the leadership room as a people’s representative.

DAP and PKR had at least named more than ten young-blooded electoral candidates in the last general elections, and that has made Yeo Bee Yin and Fahmi Fadzil the hopeful young politicians of the day whom people put their hopes in.

Undeniably, Malaysia, the country that is being governed by a slim-majority 6-party coalition, seriously needs many new young faces in the House of Representatives to be the successor to those ancient leaders who would never give up politics unless being voted out.

As a man who wish to be joining the new force, I can collaboratively support the youth-centric party if it’s not exclusively created for certain youths whose names already framed on the wall of the political arena.

Forming a dedicated political party for youths must not be about reserving an exclusivity for certain silver-spooned young men.

Instead, it should inclusively provide a wide leadership opportunity for ‘underground youngsters’ who do really have unseen talents and credentials to shine in politics in an aim of defeating oldie politicians through ballot boxes.

But still, even though its creation may craft a pleasant political change for tomorrow’s episode, its agenda has to be clear and rational that it has to define its political identity so that voters, regardless of where they live, will confidently vote its candidates in to be their next representatives in the House of Parliament.

To Syed Saddiq, trust me, the youth party that you are presently inspiring will be the next mammoth winner if you can assure that equality and inclusivity are well inserted in the party’s leadership philosophy.

Without these two elements, its creation will be just the same as those political empires that remain hailing same old faces in every general election.

---

* Amerul Azry Abdul Aziz is an independent writer who now views politics as something that can be researched.

**The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of Astro AWANI.