UM’s Fahmi starts youth movement to replace Malaysia’s leaders

Former student leader Fahmi Zainol has started a multiracial youth movement. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, January 4, 2015.

Suspended, fined and unable to sit for his final examinations, Universiti Malaya (UM) former student leader Fahmi Zainol has started a youth movement with the aim of producing young leaders to "replace" the current national leadership.

Fahmi said the group, Anak Muda Harapan Malaysia (Youths are Malaysia's hope), had a mission to "save Malaysia" because the youths were the hope of Malaysia's future.

"We want to produce a new set of young leaders to replace the country’s leaders that will retire soon," Fahmi said when met yesterday.

He said it was a multi-racial initiative and comprised some of the other student leaders who were punished along with him by the UM administration for organising a talk featuring opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on October 27 last year.

Fahmi, who was the president of UM's elected student council, was among eight students, dubbed the UM8, who were punished for organising Anwar's talk.

He and another student leader, Safwan Shamsuddin, received the harshest penalties of a fine and immediate suspension and were unable to sit for their final examinations as a result. The rest were fined RM150 each while one was let off with a warning.

All of them had applied to the appeal's committee for the punishment to be lifted.

Safwan's appeal to the university to be allowed to sit his final examination today was rejected yesterday.

“Looking at the situation in the country, we feel that it is time that we have new line of leaders replacing the leaders that we have now for a better Malaysia,” he said.

With the new challenge and year ahead, Fahmi said that he and his friends have decided to form the youth movement that would represent all races in the country.

The movement would not be politically-aligned to any party, and would spread its message through its members participating in debates, talks and activities held by both the ruling party and opposition.

“This is a free entity. It is only a platform to churn out ideas together for the good of everyone.

"It does not matter if later a member wants to join Umno, DAP or PAS or any other party, they are free to do so. We just want to try to create new young leaders through this movement,” said Fahmi.

"Our strength will be based on the young and multiracial student leaders who are talented and passionate. We will raise issues that affected not one race, but all,” he added.

Current members of the fledging movement are Fahmi and fellow Universiti Malaya students Lee Jin Yang (engineering), Ganeswarankana (economics and administration), Adam Fistival Wilfrid (information and technology) and Zawani Syafikah (environmental and Islamic studies). International Islamic University Law and Shariah student Atyrah Hanim Razali is also a member.

Fahmi said their first project will be to help flood victims in the east coast with a trip to deliver aid and medicine from January 15 to 17.

- TMI