In this webinar, YB Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman presented on issues such as corruption, lack of equal access to education, job loss and furloughed employees, human rights issues, and the clashes between liberalism and conservatism that continue to haunt Malaysia and his motivations for starting MUDA.
MALAYSIA STUDIES PROGRAMME WEBINAR
Tuesday, 6 October 2020 – The ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute hosted a webinar entitled “Malaysia and the Youths: MUDA’s Mobilisation Efforts” with YB Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman as the speaker. Mr Syed Saddiq is a Member of Parliament for Muar since 2018 and former Minister of Youth and Sports under the Pakatan Harapan government. In September 2020 he founded the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA), a political party which aspires to showcase talented and young political candidates of various age groups, racial background and ideologies. During his undergraduate years in the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM), Mr Syed Saddiq won the 2015 United Asian Debating Championship (UADC). He is presently pursuing the Lee Kuan Yew Senior Fellowship in Public Policy (SFPS) the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore.
During the webinar, he shared about the sequence of events which led him to enter politics prior to the 2018 General Election (GE2018). He contested the election under the banner of the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (then a component party of Pakatan Harapan). As a cabinet minister, he initiated bills which sought to address the salient concerns of young Malaysians. Mr Syed Saddiq also explained the vision and goals of MUDA, as well as the party’s outreach efforts among diverse social groups in Malaysia.
During the question-and-answer session, topics raised include youth participation in politics, comparison between MUDA and other youth-centric parties in Southeast Asia, and the potential impact of multiracial parties in Malaysia. 180 participants from Singapore and abroad participated in the webinar.
