Undi18 co-founders, cricket farmer among seven Malaysians in Forbes ‘30 under 30 Asia’ for 2021 list

 

Qyira Yusri speaks during a press conference on Undi18's lawsuit at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall April 2, 2021. — Picture by Choo Choy May

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KUALA LUMPUR, April 20 — Co-founders of the Undi18 movement, Qyira Yusri and Tharma Pillai, are among the millennial and Gen Z leaders chosen by Forbes for its annual “30 under 30 Asia” list.

They were listed under the ‘Social Impact’ section for their efforts in championing youth suffrage in Malaysia.

Forbes said it chose Undi18 for promoting youth representation in politics as a social enterprise as well as its Parlimen Digital initiative.

“Last year, Undi18 organised Parlimen Digital, a youth-led virtual parliamentary sitting to propose recommendations for economic and Covid-19 relief in Malaysia, the first of its kind in the world, which attracted 500,000 livestream views,” it added.

Tharma Pillai speaks during a press conference on Undi18's lawsuit at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall April 2, 2021. — Picture by Choo Choy May

In a brief tweet this morning, Tharma called the recognition a “crazy, huge honour”.

 

Meanwhile, five other Malaysians also made the cut this year in categories such as Media, Marketing & Advertising, The Arts and Consumer Technology.

They are Tan Guan Sheng (founder of creative social media influencer platform, Ittify); Jaz Lee (creative director at Ogilvy); Annice Lyn (co-founder of Women Photographers Malaysia that advocates gender equality in the industry); Kevin Wu (founder of farming startup specialising in edible crickets, Ento; and Ong Yong Xun (founder of free study app, JomStudy).

This year, Forbes has chosen to highlight 300 young entrepreneurs, leaders and trailblazers under the age of 30 across Asia who have persevered amidst the global Covid-19 pandemic.

“Forbes ‘30 under 30 Asia’ Class of 2021 features bright and innovative millennial and Gen Z leaders who have persevered and thrived despite global uncertainty, with 30 honorees selected for each 10 categories,” it said in a statement today.

The other categories include Finance & Venture Capital; Retail & eCommerce; Enterprise Technology; Industry, Manufacturing & Energy; and Healthcare & Science and Social Entrepreneurs.- malaymail