COMMENT | The legacy of youth political activism in Malaysia

COMMENT | In a recent letter to The Star, Muhammad Afiq of the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute wrote on the dearth of political literacy in Malaysia, and a potential systemic solution.

This would not involve piecemeal answers, such as “targeted government programmes or youth-led organisations to impart political literacy. Rather, it should be through reorienting the education system itself to produce politically literate citizens”.

In the light of the delayed implementation of Undi 18’s push to lower the voting age to 18 and the general exclusion of citizens from the understanding and operationalisation of the byzantine world of Malaysian politics, answers are urgently needed for the continued functioning of democracy.

In general, I agree with the arguments and conclusion of the article, although I would emphasise that dynamic, youthful activism should still remain a key aspect of any solution, especially given that the state, by its bureaucratic and established nature, remains essentially a conservative institution.

Even though it may seem that youths are only just emerging as key political catalysts, a further look back would reveal the role played by the students during the late colonial years, starting in the Malayan Spring period under the uneasy rule of the British Military Administration, at a time when the politically divided Malay States and the Straits Settlements were stitched into a federation in preparation for eventual independence.

As University of Cambridge professor Tim Harper outlined in his book The End of Empire and the Making of Malaya, this period saw the entrenchment of the political apparatus and institutions of our British-style modern state, much of which has been carefully retained albeit in modified form.

In this highly politicised period, the students fought for...