Breaking Down Doors: Syed Saddiq / Co-Founder of MUDA

Direct Talk

Syed Saddiq is one of
Malaysia's youngest politicians.

He was elected as cabinet minister
at just 25 years old.

In 2020, he co-founded MUDA,

which is Malaysia's first
youth-centric political party.

Syed was re-elected as a member of Parliament
in the 2022 General Elections.

He organises fundraising activities

and leads volunteer work
to aid those in need.

Syed believes

that youths should be willing to break down
doors to take control of their destiny.

Breaking Down Doors

Whether we like it or not
young people will inherit this country,

the good and the bad.

So young people not only
represent the future

but also the present.

Demographic analysis showed

Malaysia had a large
population of youths in 2018.

People aged between 15 to 39 years old,

made up a little over 45%

or close to 10 million people.

However, youths are faced
with a multitude of challenges.

My generation will go through tough times.

The fact that we have to work two or
three different jobs to make a decent living

signifies that this is not a generation
which is asset-rich, it is asset-light.

We cannot own a house, we cannot own a car,

we must work three or four different jobs

including during weekends to earn a living

and above and beyond that

we looking at the generation
which is above us or parents

which do not have savings when they retire.

Therefore, we must think about ourselves

and also take care our parents.

Syed believes that youths
should take charge of their own destiny

and have a platform
to contribute to building the nation.

The point is,

is to envision the world in which

young people will be represented
in every single echelon of decision making,

whether it's from a village level
to the cabinet of the country.

You want to have a youth view,

included and well represented.

So society cannot live without young people,
young people cannot live without society.

We are intertwined with one another

but I believe it is high time
for young people to shape their own future

instead of allowing others,

to shape their future for them.

MUDA encourages youths to be involved
in different facets of society

that will help shape their world.

Never ever allow anyone to tell you
that you're too young to do something.

And if they do, don't be disheartened.

Just take that as a motivation
to work hard and to prove them wrong.

Syed uses social media to reach
young people to advocate for reforms

and to share his ideas for solutions
that are plaguing Malaysia.

It is important for us
to take the ownership of our country,

take ownership of our future

and I believe it's through our voice,

it's through our tweets
and social media, our TikTok,

in many and multiple different ways

can we get our views and voice out there

but it's important for us to start now,

and not wait for others
to open the doors for us.

Young people can shape the future
in many ways,

not just through politics
which is their inherent right to vote,

but also through civil action,
civil society, volunteerism.

When parts of Malaysia
were hit with massive floods,

MUDA volunteered to help victims
clean their homes after the water subsided.

There were 10,000 of people who are
registering as volunteers for free

from all parts of Malaysia.

For example, they were,
I mean university students,

who took some days off,

to get on a bus with randoms,
who they've never met,

to drive all the way to Pahang
with friends who they just met,

to volunteer for one whole week
for the flood cleanup efforts.

Syed's passion for public service
can be traced to his childhood.

He grew up in a
middle-class family in Johor,

which is the state neighbouring Singapore.

His parents have always been
role models for his strong work ethic.

My mother dedicated her life
to being a teacher

from the day she entered the first job
to the day where she retired,

just two years ago.

My father, worked in
multiple different odd jobs

he would commute from Johor
to Singapore every day.

He was working in construction,

he was working for Saudi Airlines
as one of the random ground officers

so he was doing many different menial jobs,

but he really provided for the family.

His mother inspired him to lead a life
of public service at a very young age.

I love my mom more than ever,

my mom is my greatest source of inspiration.

She dedicated her life to public service.

And a life as a public service
is not a glamorous life

but we need to gain value out of serving

and if you love serving,

then naturally you become a
much better person and you enjoy it.

I vividly remember when my mum,

she was a teacher, English teacher,

and she was also teaching tuition.

But instead of my mom doing it for money,

I always remember when I was
following my mum to school,

my mum will stop at the petrol station

then there will always be like
young children sitting on the floor.

So my mum will always take effort
to call one by one of them and ask

who are your parents and
where are you staying at.

And my mum will intentionally
speak to them in English,

and if they cannot respond well in English
then my mum say,

"Can I please get your parent's number?"

And from there onward my mum will actually
recruit them get them into the tuition class

and teach them for free for one whole year.

So that really, imprints
the importance of public service

and how you know a small action can lead
to a strong ripple effect for the future,

and I see those who my mum taught
have been very successful

and helping many others,
employing many others.

So that to some extent,

make me realise that public service
is the path I want to take.

Syed studied at the
Royal Military College in Kuala Lumpur

before pursuing a degree in law at the
International Islamic University of Malaysia.

However, back then
Syed never aspired to be a politician.

I was never interested in frontline politics,

but I've always had the passion
in policy-making and research.

But more into the backhand guy

doing research, policy,
advise and consultancy

it started when I got into debating.

So debating has always
been part of my passion.

I represented Malaysia in my university

in debating and won
multiple awards internationally.

But debating is about policy.

So instead of limiting my idealism
and policy know-how,

to the confinement of the debate room,

I wanted to take it further,

and I thought since politics
was the epicentre of change,

and be the best place to do so.

In 2016, he co-founded a
new political party called Bersatu.

That became the start
of his political career.

However, in 2017,

Syed would face a critical moment.

He was offered a scholarship
by Oxford University

to get his Masters in Public Policy.

He had to choose between
continuing his education or pursuing politics

You know being brought up
in a middle-class family,

raised by a teacher,

getting a scholarship to study
in one of the top universities

is a once in a lifetime opportunity

cause I always see my family cannot afford
to send me to Oxford without scholarship.

So when I got in with scholarship,

to reject it was a complete no-no in my mind.

However, Syed turned down the offer

as his priority was to
make Malaysia a better nation.

So I just thought If I were to leave

that will be a highly
irresponsible thing to do.

And if anything if I'm good enough,
I'm fairly certain,

that wherever I end

I will still get that offer,
I will still get that scholarship.

But I need to show my worth,

and my worth in the end
is still rooted in the fact

that I love this country,

I love being a public servant,

and I want to be the agent
of change more than ever.

So that was huge leap of faith.

His decision to be involved
in politics paid off

as Bersatu became part of the
ruling government in 2018.

He would be appointed
as the Minister of Youth and Sports,

making him Malaysia's youngest ever
Cabinet Member.

But he wasn't warmly received by
some senior members of Parliament.

A lot of my opponents would think that
because I'm young they can bully me,

you know just throw me off guard,

they can shout and think I'll cower
and don't know how to answer.

Until today you still hear

I'm a kid,

you're a kitten,

but I don't take offense in all of these,

instead of hating them,

I always talk to them after saying

"Why are you calling me a kitten,

I love cats,

so feel free to call me a cat."

The more they say
this kind of things the more,

the more it shows that there is a
greater need to educate fellow Malaysians

that being young is not a liability,
if anything it's an asset.

Despite being criticized by some members
of the older generation in Parliament,

Syed believes that the older generation
has also a vital role to play.

He regards former prime minister,
Tun Mahathir Mohamad as one of his mentors.

It would be gravely wrong, to say,

that the future of Malaysia
only lies in the hand of young people

and older generation do not have a place.

That's wrong.
Diversity is about acknowledging differences,

different categories

and coming together to
build that beloved country,

knowing that our lives are
interconnected to one another.

That the success of a young person,

enlightens a life of someone who old as well.

And that's the aim, vice versa.

So, I think having a balance viewpoint

can only be achieved with
great diversity and inclusivity.

However, the ruling government
collapsed in 2020

and Syed was removed from the
political party that he co-founded.

It was one of the
most difficult periods of his life.

But he would use it as inspiration
to form a new political party called MUDA.

MUDA means young in the Malay language.

It's time to create the movement,
the movement of young leaders

who may not have had
the place in any political party,

I think it's time to create
that new platform.

But we thought
this is the time for disruption,

what we do not have, we make out with
a lot of idealism, with a lot of hard work,

volunteers who willing to
work the ground for free,

in building the Malaysia
which they believe in.

MUDA's team works to
raise funds for those in need.

When Malaysia was emerging
from Covid-19 lockdowns,

Syed's team provided much needed resources
to those badly affected by the pandemic.

We mobilised resources to get food baskets
to those who are in need,

in my constituency, Muar,

I got more than 2,000
quality laptops and tablets

to more than 2,000 under privileged family

who are disconnected from the internet

and especially when education
was online, no longer offline.

The energy and passion shown by Malaysian
youths who came together truly moved Syed.

So, to me this really is inspiring

and that's exactly why I'm still in politics.

Because whenever I feel like
waving the white flag,

I start to realise that
there are many others.

This is not just about me.

If anything, I'm just the vehicle
for the aspiration of people

and when I see them doing this,

it really energises me forward.

And it's a constant reminder that
politic is bigger than a person.

And that as a vehicle I can be removed
and changed at any point in time,

but I just hope that the aspiration
will continue to move our country forward.

Over the years, MUDA has continued to grow.

From a party which made out
from only nine members

now we have almost 100,000
strong members across Malaysia,

young and old, multiracial, moderate,

those who really want to make Malaysia
a developed country

one which is world renowned

and we're very set in working the ground hard
to make that dream a reality.

Moving forward,

Syed believes that youths
must continue to push hard

to be included in conversations
on how to build the nation.

When there's a will, there's a way!

I've always believed in this line

it's on my life motto, to be honest

because I come from
a low-middle income family,

but yet I can still break doors open.

Keep on moving forward
no matter how difficult it gets.

And every time I get stuffed,
I keep on reminding myself,

when there's a will, there's a way.

No matter how difficult it is.

And I want to ensure I work remarkably hard

to achieve those goals.

And those goals are aligned
to making Malaysia

a great country and developed country.

When there's a will, there's a way.

The advice I'll give to young people
is the same advice I give to myself.

Do not expect for things to be given
to you on a silver platter.

In whichever level you are in,

when an opportunity is denied,

keep on knocking on the door

still being denied, knock louder and stronger

still being denied, punch the door open,

still being denied, kick that damn door open

and take ownership of your future.

I say that because
the road ahead will not be easy.

However, with that in mind,

I think we'll build a sense of resilience

and we'll imbue a sense of innovation

and critical thinking

for us to find different ways
to keep on moving forward.

So knock that door open

and break whatever walls are in front of you.