Press Statement By Julian Tan:
We had a fruitful dialogue with representatives from both Undi 18 (Mr Soon Wei Xen) and Undi Sarawak (Mr Ivan Alexander Ong, Mr Mohamad Fartul Iqwan). They also took the initiative to reach out to various political parties of different political divides in Sarawak to better understand the current political situation in Malaysia, especially so with the looming Sarawak State Election. The commendable gesture is nothing short of a good display of leadership and youth ownership in shaping their future via inclusiveness and active involvement.
Among the topics of our discussion includes youth involvement in politics, youth empowerment in politics, the current political situation in Malaysia and Sarawak and moving forward strategies on continuous engagement between all the political parties regardless of their political divide.
Another in-depth discussion topic that we had was the importance of raising public political awareness, especially the youth, via continuous education. Our current education syllabus is also in urgent need of reforms. It is instrumental in ensuring all citizens are well educated on their democratic rights and how a healthy democracy should work in Malaysia. We agreed that youth empowerment transcends political lines.
Malaysia is in urgent need of a healthy democracy. A strong foundation is a cornerstone for building a better Malaysia. It is most regrettable that for the coming Sarawak state election, the 135’000 Sarawak youth (18-20yr old) will miss their chances to vote. Only by the mere few weeks as they can only vote after 31st December. Suppose the Sarawak government are true to their words and sincere in their commitment to the youth. In that case, the Sarawak election can be held starting from 1st January 2022 and still within the 60days limit after the Emergency lifted on 3rd November.
