In the midst of a pandemic, Malaysian youth find their voice

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

Images of black flags and people waving them from their cars or homes appeared on social media around the end of June, when Malaysians were dealing with a rapidly increasing coronavirus outbreak.

The flags, which were labelled with the hashtag #lawan, which means "fight" in Malay, became a rallying cry against the government's handling of the outbreak.
In July, the unrest spilled onto the streets in a series of mostly peaceful rallies.

 

COVID-19 had reached a new high point by that time, with over 20,000 new infections and 200 deaths every day, and protesters demanded that then-Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin quit.
Police detained at least 47 protesters for questioning as the demonstrations continued.

The black flag campaign was started by Sekretariat Solidariti Rakyat (SSR), a loose alliance of over 40 young activist groups that first joined together in March to protest the delay in implementing the reduction of the voting age from 21 to 18, which was passed in Parliament in July 2019.

 

According to political commentator Bridget Welsh, the government's failure to implement the Act after it was passed was the impetus for many young people's dissatisfaction.

Other issues include a nearly double-digit unemployment rate among 15 to 30-year-olds, stagnant income, costly housing, and the lack of a meaningful social safety net in the event of a pandemic.

 

All of this has been worsened by Malaysia's political turmoil since the general election in 2018, which has resulted in two changes of government since February last year, as well as the pandemic's damage.

“There are young folks who have lost relatives.
I know someone who lost his grandparents, granduncles, uncles and aunts in the span of a week,” said Qyira Yusri, a 27-year-old co-founder of Undi18, an NGO that spearheaded the drive to reduce the voting age.
“They're just wondering what's going on and looking to our government for answers.”

 

While Malaysia fared well through the initial months of the COVID-19 epidemic – even after Muhyiddin's power grab – the situation quickly spiralled out of control following a snap election in the Borneo state of Sabah in September 2020.

Muhyiddin declared a state of emergency and halted Parliament in January this year, as politicians inside his weak coalition jockeyed for power and coronavirus infections rose.
Then there was a long period of lockdown.

 

Many Malaysians turned to social media, and young people were propelled into the forefront of political engagement at a time when older generations were particularly sensitive to COVID-19.

Welsh sees the movement as primarily urban, but one that aspires to be inclusive by bridging geographic, social, and racial barriers.

Muhyiddin resigned as Prime Minister a few days after the SSR demonstration on July 31, which drew up to 1,000 protesters.

 

“While I can't say for sure that the protests made a difference,” Qyira told Al Jazeera, “what's significant is that it created an opportunity for people to express their frustrations.”

Since then, Ismail Sabri Yaakob of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), a scandal-plagued party that dominated the Barisan Nasional coalition that ruled Malaysia for decades before being ousted in 2018, has been named to the top role.
Ismail Sabri's government, like Muhyiddin's, was not chosen by the people.