Image courtesy of Glam Lelaki
Having instilled in him the spirit of patriotism at a young age since his primary school years at the Royal Military College (RMC), Syed Saddiq is very proud to be a Malaysian. He considers his years there to be one of the most meaningful memories in his life and has also transformed and shaped who he is today.
In an interview with Glam Lelaki, the 28-year-old who is currently the Member of Parliament for Muar attributes his determination to his mother. “I work very hard, just like my mother. Right now, I’m focusing on the youth movement. I am actively participating in any movement or organisation that specifically targets youth-related issues.”
The second child out of four siblings, Syed Saddiq has made many life achievements at such a young age. In university, he received the Best Asian Debater award while representing the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) in the United Asian Debate Championship (UADC). Another proud moment was when he won the Best Debater (ESL) award at the Australasia, Cambridge and Oxford Inter-varsities tournaments in 2012-2014.
Image courtesy of Glam Lelaki
In 2018, Syed Saddiq was appointed as the Minister of Youth and Sports in the then government, making him the country’s youngest-ever federal minister. In the same year, he was listed amongst the ’20 Most Influential Young People in Government’ by Apolitical, a London-based organisation that brings together civil servants and policymakers in 140 countries.
Currently, aside from being the parliament rep for his hometown Muar, Syed Saddiq is also the President of The Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA), an unofficial youth-centred political party formed last September 2020.
With the Malaysian parliament meeting for the first time this year, a lot of eyes were on Syed Saddiq.
In his seven-minute speech, he says, “Now, more than a million Malaysians are unemployed and it is estimated that there will be an additional 500,000 who will be unemployed in the next two to three months. Not only that, studies show more than 500,000 families, who previously belonged to the middle class, are now dropping into B40. The country’s poverty rate has doubled and over 600,000 have fallen through the cracks of poverty. I’m not just quoting facts and numbers, this is the reality today,” he shares.
His heated delivery has garnered favourable reactions on Twitter. See them below:
@SyedSaddiq the people of Malaysia who wants to bring true change is behind you with full support. Lead the way.
— Panda (@Jatinsid) July 26, 2021
Nurul Izzah & Syed Saddiq are today’s saving grace.
— Cassandra Lee ? (@cassleeyy) July 26, 2021
Today parlimen Mat Sabu, Syed Saddiq and Nurul Izzah. Best speech, best point! ?
— Tasya ? (@natasyaazira304) July 26, 2021
The part Syed Saddiq slams the table and shouted kita lawan ? pic.twitter.com/GuihWsk13d
— Mukhesh Ravi (@soulZ_Cash) July 26, 2021
Idk but im with u @SyedSaddiq ??
— ˚ ༘✶ ⋆｡˚ ⁀➷ (@huz4ifii) July 26, 2021
Images and additional reporting from Glam Lelaki.
