BriefingAsia-Pacific

How a New Youth-Driven Party Is Shaking Up Malaysian Politics

A protest against the appointment of Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Feb. 29, 2020 (AP photo by Vincent Thian).
A protest against the appointment of Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Feb. 29, 2020 (AP photo by Vincent Thian).

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman turned heads in 2018 when, at the age of 25, he became the youngest-ever Malaysian politician appointed to a Cabinet post. Last year, he helped secure the passage of a landmark constitutional amendment to lower the voting age from 21 to 18. Now, the telegenic former youth and sports minister is building a new, youth-led political party that follows a recent trend of millennial-inspired political movements in Southeast Asia, including the Indonesian Solidarity Party and Thailand’s now-banned Future Forward Party. Syed Saddiq’s party, the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance—or MUDA, which means “young” in Malay—aims […]

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