Less than 5% of Malay voters back Amanah, says youth chief

 Hasbie Muda says the low numbers should serve as a wake-up call as it prepares for the next general election.

Amanah Youth chief Hasbie Muda said party leaders have been inactive on social media, and questioned how many national leaders were on TikTok. (Facebook pic)

KUALA LUMPUR:

 Support for Amanah among Malay voters ranged from 1% to 5%, Amanah Youth chief Hasbie Muda said today.

He said the figures, shown in a recent internal survey, should serve as a wake-up call as the party prepares for the next general election.

“This is the reality. We wanted these findings tabled so we are aware (of the level of support) and act on it,” he said in a special address to Amanah Youth members.

Hasbie reprimanded party leaders who were inactive in wooing the young voters on social media, and questioned how many national party leaders were active on TikTok.

“I can count with the fingers on my hand the number of posts by these leaders who have more than 10,000 ‘likes’, while there are some state youth leaders who still do not have TikTok accounts,” he said.

“How are we supposed to go into the general election like this?” he added.

In the 2022 general election, Amanah only won eight of the 54 parliamentary seats it contested, a drop from the 11 secured in 2018.

Hasbie proposed that a fund be set up for the Amanah Youth machinery, and urged members who are political appointees in the government to donate part of their monthly salaries.

“We need to be honest, we don’t have funds,” he said.

Hasbie also set a new target for the wing: for a youth wing member to be elected as an assemblyman in every state at the next general election.

He said Amanah Youth previously had seven assemblymen, before the number dwindled to two. “In the coming general election we want each state to have an assemblyman from Amanah Youth,” he said. - FMT