After months of speculation, it is finally official. On Sept 17, 2020, a day after Malaysia Day, Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman announced in a radio interview with English language station BFM that he will register a new political party with the Registrar of Societies (ROS).
Indeed, on the same day, he and several of the new party’s sponsors showed up at the ROS to submit the registration papers. The new party’s name is Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) and its sponsors and members are made out of a mixture of activists, academics, professionals and entrepreneurs.
According to Syed Saddiq, there will no age limit for members of the new party. It is not a party exclusively for young people. It is also open to all ethnicities; it is not a race-based or religious-based party.
It seems that Muda will be a multi-racial political party that is led by young people.
As soon as the news broke, it caused a buzz on social media. Young people, and even those who might not be so young, started talking about the new party. The response, at least on social media, has by and large been positive.
The official Twitter account of the new party very first tweet was on Sept 17, and within two days it has already garnered more than 26,000 followers.
Whether the party will be registered in time for the next general elections, speculated to be within the next six months, remains to be seen. Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang), the splinter political party made out of Bersatu has also submitted its registration last month, but ROS have yet to approve and register the same.
In contrast, Perikatan Nasional, the coalition of political parties headed by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has been formally registered, although the speed and timeline of its registration have been questioned.
Starting a new party is no easy feat. A new party would need funding and personnel. There will be disagreements as to the direction of the party within the party itself.
A new party would also need to compete with other more established parties for membership, votes and support. The road ahead for Muda would be challenging, to say the least.
There will be space for a new political party in Malaysia. Our society is increasingly diverse, and there is certainly room for another multi-racial political party, especially if it is lead and comprise largely of, young people.
The formation of Muda and the support it has thus far garnered is a signal that young people no longer want the politics of old; the politics of division, of hate, of patronage, of corruption and politics where only old men have a say in the country.
Who knows what the future may hold for this political party. Can it become relevant, and enjoy success like other multi-racial political parties such the DAP and PKR? Or will it become like the many other political parties in Malaysia’s history that no longer exist or exist only in name and remain in the fringes of political support. Time will tell.
But by merely entering the market of political parties, Muda has disrupted the political landscape of our country. Political parties would need to adapt to this development. They need to realise that young people are now politically empowered, and they are hungry for their voices to be heard.
How these parties deal with this changing landscape will determine whether they will enjoy electoral success in the future.
SYAHREDZAN JOHAN is a civil liberties lawyer and political secretary to Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang. - Mkini
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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