Youths Are The Leaders Of Tomorrow, But We Must Be Trained Today

COMMENT | “The secret message communicated to most young people today by the society around them is that they are not needed, that society will run itself quite nicely until they – at some distant point in the future – will take over the reins.

Yet the fact is that the society is not running itself nicely… because the rest of us need all the energy, brains, imagination and talent that young people can bring to bear down on our difficulties.

For society to attempt to solve its desperate problems without the full participation of even very young people is imbecile.”

– Alvin Toffler, writer and futurist

You know that elections are around the corner when everyone is talking about the youth. Both government and opposition are going all out to court the youth vote, with townhalls like TN50 and Pakatan Harapan’s playfully-titled “What Say Youth”.

As a young person at the tender age of 28, I am glad that the youth agenda is being discussed. However, there seems to be a pattern – as elections loom, everyone seems to empathise with the youth’s socio-economic struggles.

After the elections, the only mention of us is in the sports section (think: the Ministry of Youth and Sports). Nothing is said about youth unemployment, affordable housing, teenage pregnancies or drug and alcohol addiction. Discussions about the youth agenda will remain discussions if no real steps are taken to ensure that youths are represented in matters concerning them.

Stop the baby talk

2017 saw the rise of the anti-establishment, propelled by the youth. Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn’s socialist policies resonated deeply with youths grappling with huge college debts and a shrinking jobs market. Young leaders took the world by storm – Emmanuel Macron, Sebastian Kurz, and Jacinda Adern.

In contrast, about 3.7 million Malaysian youths have not registered to vote. Our political landscape lacks fresh faces and bold ideas. Malaysia’s Bernie/Corbyn moment is still, to use a favourite Malaysian phrase, “on the way”.

We cannot pine for a Trudeau when our youth have not been taken seriously. In fact, there is a culture of baby-talking to the youth. Parents, society, and government are equally guilty.

From young, we are told to be quiet and accept what our elders tell us. When we refused to be silent, they detained us – using laws like the Universities & University Colleges Act (UUCA).

Then, with the pursuit of shiny degrees and the white-collar life, they distracted us.

Today, they divert us. We are told that both political sides are the same. Why fight for a change in government? It is long, laborious and thankless. Do charity instead – for example, join a soup kitchen and feed the homeless tonight! Results are instantaneous: the homeless have full bellies, and you have a full ego. No endless talking and long meetings, parliamentary debates, motion submissions or voting.

When the adults tell us not to join politics, you can bet that the problem and solutions are both political. I’m reminded of Dom Hélder Câmara’s words: “When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist.”

Here’s the subtle message: leave politics to the adults. They know better.

The baby-talking is real when we see poor youth representation in decision-making bodies, even those discussing youth issues. How many public bodies have youths in their committees? I am talking about the real influence of youths, not mere token numbers.

As a result, Malaysian youth have shifted online. But we need to start articulating our ideas in the public and physical sphere about how we see the future. The message is simple – we are not content to just listen. Ceramahs are boring. Townhalls are better. We want not only to hear but to be heard as well.

Creating space for “strawberries”?

In conjunction with World Children’s Day, Unicef released a survey of 11,733 children and adolescents. Malaysians were very convinced that the world would improve if leaders listened but were sceptical that adults would do so.

Only 47 percent of Malaysian respondents trusted their leaders to make good decisions. This shows a trust deficit between generations.

Youths are the leaders of tomorrow, but we must be trained today. The first step is giving the youth public spaces to speak, especially in areas directly concerning us.

In my office programmes, we’ve purposefully provided space for our peers to speak.

More than half the allotted time of our last forum, titled “Can the millennials save Malaysia?” was spent on Q&A. The questions were tough, but our young panellists – Rahman Hussin from Umno Youth, Syed Saddiq (photo) from Bersatu Youth, myself from DAP, and activist Farah Nabilah tried our best to answer.

More importantly, the level of civility among panelists and audience was hopefully an indicator of the future, in which we can have bipartisan discussions instead of today’s hostile political atmosphere.

Our #Wayang film screenings have no speakers or lecturers. Instead, our special guests facilitate, allowing attendees to express their thoughts out loud. What we discovered was interesting: while these youths shied away from mainstream politics and were nonchalant about registering as voters, they were by no means silent on issues. They had opinions and after some encouragement, were able to articulate themselves. Even better, some said that they would register as voters after the dialogues ended.

What is missing in the larger national context? Space for youths to express opinions, and a bridge to interact with their peers and parents’ generation. In other words, youth representation.

Malaysian youths in Malaysia’s future

Malaysian youth need to see themselves in Malaysia’s future. Broadly speaking, youths from all backgrounds are facing the same problems caused by the same system. With less political baggage, we have the chance to work with one another and decide that, on certain things, enough is enough.

While we may not like some of these older politicians, we should know what we want after they are gone. It is not enough to deconstruct; we need to replace with better constructs.

What is the Malaysia we want to see?

These are important questions we need to grapple with. Hence the importance placed on having sufficient space and support to articulate our views. Nonetheless, before we get to having young dynamic leaders with an inclusive vision for all, society must raise and make these leaders.

LIM YI WEI is the political secretary to Tony Pua, MP for Petaling Jaya Utara. She is also a councillor with the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ).

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.