The Malaysian Insight

As the 14th general election approaches, The Malaysian Insight looks at new and young politicians who are being groomed by their parties to stand as candidates. One of the biggest grouses among the electorate is the lack of young leaders as the heads of political parties, even in the opposition, are those who have been in politics since the 1980s. Where are the young to take Malaysia forward?

WHEN activist-turned politician Edry Faizal Yusof decided to join DAP, he knew he had to go up against a widespread belief held by Malays that the opposition party was set on turning Malaysia into a Christian state.

“Joining DAP is a completely different issue for the Malays…it’s not like when you choose to join PAS or PKR,” the 33-year-old told The Malaysian Insight.

“It’s like you are changing your religion; you become a convert.”

Edry joined DAP in 2012, after doing extensive research on its political ideology, which convinced him that the party went beyond rhetoric. 

“That’s why I’m dumbfounded when people say DAP wants to form a Christian state. Because since I became a party member, there is no discussion about this. Even the idea of forming a Christian state itself is absurd.”

While he was prepared for a backlash from friends and family when he announced his decision to join the party, Edry said he was fortunate that his parents supported and trusted his decision.

But not all his Malay party colleagues enjoyed the same level of understanding from their families.

“After I joined DAP, some of my friends who followed suit used my address because they didn’t want letters to be mailed to their homes.

“There was one case where my friend was grounded for one week because the family received the letter.

“That’s the usual reaction, but my parents trusted my decision,” he said. 

Today, the 33-year-old Selayang Municipal councillor said the “anti-Muslim” tag that has plagued the party for decades is slowly eroding among the Malays. 

Much of the change in mindset is because there are more Malays now openly becoming DAP members.

The party is also actively going to the ground to dispel the racial and religious prejudices that have been propagated by DAP’s political opponents, said Edry.

“I have learnt so much since joining the party, the programmes carried out by the party are always policy-oriented, we discuss how to solve problems for issues like social mobility, public transport,” he said.

“We are a policy-based party, we find ways to solve problems.”

Rapper, activist, politician

Political consciousness and activism have always been an interest for Edry, who converses fluently in Chinese.

When he was 18, Edry formed a rap group called 5forty2 which injected political messages into their songs.

“As we grew older, the way we saw the world grew with us. 

“We started to touch on serious issues, like how the media is used as a propaganda tool, the Palestinian conflict, the fight between the oppressed and oppressor… our songs were about our concerns with the world,” he said. 

Edry now works as the coordinator for DAP’s Sekolah Demokrasi. He is also a Selangor DAP committee member and Subang DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy) chief, apart from holding the role of coordinator for the Taman Templer constituency in Selayang, Selangor.

DAP traditionally fields well-performing constituency coordinators as candidates in the general election, fuelling rumours that the young creative multimedia graduate could be running for the Taman Templer state seat.

In 2013, incumbent Zaidy Abdul Talib from PAS won Taman Templer by defeating BN candidate Subahan Kamal and independent candidate Roslan Basaruddin. 

The state seat under the Selayang parliamentary seat, had 51% Malay voters, followed by Chinese 35% and Indian 13%. 

Edry said he has prepared himself to contest in the coming polls, which must be called by June, although he is still unsure if he will be picked as one of the candidates. 

“From the beginning when I decided to join the party it was all about wanting to contribute something. So I won’t really bother if they don’t choose me.

“If they want me to stand for election, I’ll do it. If not, I will help with campaigning. 

“As a candidate or campaign manager, I’m ready,” he said. 

He said although he is prioritising his work in politics, he still enjoyed the occasional musical gigs, adding that his group is due to release a new song before the elections.

“I can be a rapper and a politician at the same time,” he said of the many hats he hoped to continue wearing. – January 13, 2018.