Youth Party Malaysia Doesn T Need More Divisiveness Rafidah Aziz

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Rafidah Aziz today threw shade at former minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman's plan to form an all-youth party, saying that the country does not need more divisive politics
According to the former Wanita Umno chief, the people have already been divided along the racial and religious lines, among others
"I am never for the idea. What I said is let's not be divisive in our politicking
"Everybody (is now divided) in the sense of whether you are a man and I am a woman, or whether you are Malay, Indian or Chinese, and then there is (the divisiveness) between Christian, Buddhist, Muslim and Hindu. You know, how we are split
"Now you split between old and young. Don't we have divisiveness already in this country? Is nobody talking about how we are all Malaysians?" she asked when approached by reporters after a forum on anti-corruption in Putrajaya today
Earlier at the event, Rafidah in her speech spoke about the lack of leadership quality in some who are eager to become leaders. She did not specify any individual
In speaking about this, she took a dig at "a youth party" that wants to take over the country's politics
"As if age is important. I'm sorry, (but) this is where we go wrong (when a leader) must be young instead of having leadership skill," she said
Asked by reporters on whether she thinks that an all-youth new party such as the one that Syed Saddiq wants to set up should not be the way forward, Rafidah said one should not start having more divisiveness
The young leaders today will also grow old in no time, she added
Rafidah recalled her journey in politics at a young age of 22 and how she became the country's youngest senator at age 30
She said she came to be where she is today because she learned from experienced politicians
"I was learning from these old people. The supreme council members, they were my father's batch
"Leaders like Tun Sardon (Jubir)... you don't even know their names, right? I was with them. All the big names, they were all there. I was the youngest ever, tercongok (dumbstruck) there, learning," she said
Rafidah, who is a Universiti Malaya graduate in economics, said it does not matter if one has a long list of degrees if they do not have the brain and experience
"Experience is more important. I can talk like this because I get the experience from the people who built this country," she said
Syed Saddiq is building a youth-led, multiracial, policy-driven political platform, dubbed as "Muda Malaysia" for now, aimed at disrupting the political status quo
This includes dismantling money politics, usurping existing hierarchies, pushing youth concerns to the fore, and raising a generation of young political leaders. - Mkini

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