Syed Saddiq

Syed Saddiq bin Syed Abdul Rahman (Jawi: سيد صديق بن سيد عبدالرحمن; born 6 December 1992) is a Malaysian politician who served as the Minister of Youth and Sports in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration under former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad from July 2018 to the collapse of the PH administration in February 2020. He has also served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Muar since May 2018. He later co-founded the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA) in September 2020. He was the youngest-serving Minister and youngest to take office at the age of 25 and second youngest MP after P. Prabakaran in the history of Malaysia.[1][2]

In this Malay name, there is no family name. The name Abdul Rahman is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Saddiq.
Yang Berhormat Tuan

Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman

MP
سيد صديق بن سيد عبدالرحمن
Minister of Youth and Sports
In office
2 July 2018 – 24 February 2020
MonarchMuhammad V
(2018–2019)
Abdullah
(2019–2020)
Prime MinisterMahathir Mohamad
DeputySteven Sim
Preceded byKhairy Jamaluddin
Succeeded byReezal Merican Naina Merican
ConstituencyMuar
1st Youth Chief of the
Malaysian United Indigenous Party
In office
7 September 2016 – 28 May 2020
PresidentMuhyiddin Yassin
DeputyMohd Aizat Roslan
ChairmanMahathir Mohamad
(2018–2020)
Muhyiddin Yassin (Acting) (2020)
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byWan Ahmad Fayhsal
ConstituencyMuar
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Muar
Assumed office
9 May 2018
Preceded byRazali Ibrahim (UMNO—BN)
Majority6,953 (2018)
Personal details
Born
Syed Saddiq bin Syed Abdul Rahman

(1992-12-06) 6 December 1992
Pulai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Political partyMalaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU)
(2016–2020)
Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA)
(since 2020)
Other political
affiliations		Pakatan Harapan (PH)
(2016–2020)
EducationRoyal Military College Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
Alma materInternational Islamic University Malaysia (LLB)
OccupationPolitician
Syed Saddiq on Facebook
Syed Saddiq on Parliament of Malaysia

Early life and education

Saddiq was born on 6 December 1992 in Pulai, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. His father was a Singaporean, a construction worker at Singapore. His mother was an English teacher.[3] He had studied at the Royal Military College (RMC) before continuing his studies at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) in Bachelor of Laws (LLB). During his time at IIUM, he competed in an Asian-level debate competition and successfully won the United Asian Debating Championship (UADC).[4]

In 2017, he allegedly rejected a scholarship worth about RM400,000 to pursue his studies at Oxford University, England to remain active in politics.[5] A year later, after being elected as MP at the age of 25, Syed Saddiq once again allegedly dismissed another scholarship offer, this time rejecting the Chevening Scholarship proposal to pursue a Master in Public Policy at Oxford University.[6]

Politics

Malaysian United Indigenous Party

Saddiq was the leader of Armada; the youth wing of the BERSATU.[7] He has been a spokesperson for the party since its inception in September 2016 and is considered one of the founding members and sits on the party council.[8][9]

He became an Independent in May 2020 after being terminated as a member and 1st Youth Chief of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU), which was a component party of the then-ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.

Following his expulsion from Bersatu, Mahathir and his-led MPs have formed a new party,[10] named Party of Homeland's Fighters (PEJUANG).[11] However, on 21 August, Syed Saddiq announced that he will be establishing a new multi-racial, youth-centric party instead of joining his colleagues in PEJUANG much to Mahathir's disdain.[12][13]

Malaysian United Democratic Alliance

In 17 September 2020, he founded the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA).[14][15]

Minister of Youth and Sports

Saddiq made his debut contesting the 2018 general election (GE14) for the Muar parliamentary seat and was elected to the Parliament.[16][17] He was then appointed as the Minister of Youth and Sports in the PH new government making him the youngest ever federal minister in 2018 since Malaysia's independence.[18]

As the Minister of Youth and Sports, Saddiq has pushed for a lower voting age, or eligibility to vote in Malaysia, from 21 to 18 years old ahead of the 15th General Election (GE15).[19] However, he has agreed that first a political exposure programme for the young people of Malaysia is needed.[20] In July 2019, Saddiq has tabled a Bill in Parliament to amend the Federal Constitution to lower the voting age to 18[21] but was withdrawn and re-tabled later after it was tweaked to accommodate some changes.[22] The Dewan Rakyat on 16 July unanimously passed the re-tabled amendments Bill to lower the voting age, as well as eligibility to contest in election to 18 and automatic registration of voters by Election Commission (EC).[23][24][25]

Election results
Parliament of Malaysia[26][27][28]
Year Constituency Government Votes Pct Opposition(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2018 P146 Muar, Johor Syed Saddiq (PPBM) 22,341 53.09% Razali Ibrahim (UMNO) 15,388 36.57% 42,719 6,953 84.02%
Abdul Aziz Talib (PAS) 4,354 10.34%

Awards and accolades

References
  1. "Dr M, Mukhriz, Syed Saddiq and two others sacked from Bersatu". The Star Online. MSN. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  2. Syed Farradino Omar. "MALAYSIA BAHARU: Syed Saddiq: Muar Kitten Ready to Roar in Putrajaya". Awani Review. Astro Awani. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  3. Amy Chew (21 March 2018). "Johor born Syed Saddiq an emerging voice for Malaysian?". Channel News Asia. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  4. Dina Murad (12 June 2015). "IIUM debate team is Asia's best". The Star Online. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  5. "Syed Saddiq turns down Oxford for politics". New Straits Times. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  6. "Syed Saddiq turns down Oxford a second time". Free Malaysia Today. 2 June 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  7. "Malaysia: Mahathir-led Group Files Paperwork for New Party". BenarNews. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  8. "Critics of Malaysian PM submit papers to register new political party". Channel News Asia. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  9. "Bersatu". pribumibersatu.org.my. Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  10. "Tun Mahathir umum akan tubuh parti Melayu baharu". 7 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  11. "Tun M umum nama parti baharu, Parti Pejuang Tanah Air". 12 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  12. "Syed Saddiq bayangkan tak sertai PEJUANG, tubuh parti baharu". 21 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  13. Webmaster, M. T. (3 September 2020). "Syed Saddiq's youth 'party' won't succeed, Pejuang will be kingmaker, says Mahathir". Malaysia Today. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  14. "Dr M, Mukhriz, Syed Saddiq and two others sacked from Bersatu". The Star Online. MSN. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  15. Syed Farradino Omar. "MALAYSIA BAHARU: Syed Saddiq: Muar Kitten Ready to Roar in Putrajaya". Awani Review. Astro Awani. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  16. "PH's Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman wins Muar". Free Malaysia Today. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  17. Amar Shah Mohsen and Haikal Jalil (10 May 2018). "Syed Saddiq: Thank you Muar, Malaysia". The Sun Daily. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  18. "10 Things About Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman, Asia's Top Debater". Malay Mail. 27 March 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  19. "Voting age should be lowered to 18, says Syed Saddiq – Nation |". The Star Online. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  20. "Gov't aims to lower voting age to empower youth: Syed Saddiq". New Straits Times. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  21. Hemananthani Sivanandam, Martin Carvalho, Rahimy Rahim and Tarrence Tan (4 July 2019). "Bill to lower voting age tabled for first reading". The Star Online. Retrieved 16 July 2019.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. Hemananthani Sivanandam, Martin Carvalho, Rahimy Rahim and Tarrence Tan (10 July 2019). "Govt withdraws 'Vote at 18' Bill to tweak it (corrected)". The Star Online. Retrieved 16 July 2019.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  23. Martin Carvalho, Hemananthani Sivanandam, Rahimy Rahim and Tarrence Tan (16 July 2019). "Dewan Rakyat passes Bill to amend Federal Constitution to lower voting age to 18". The Star Online. Retrieved 16 July 2019.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. Nuradzimmah Daim, Nor Ain Mohamed Radhi (16 July 2019). "Dewan Rakyat approves 'Vote 18'". New Straits Times. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  25. Clarissa Chung (16 July 2019). "Syed Saddiq lauds move to lower voting age to 18". The Star Online. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  26. "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2018. Results only available from the 2004 election.
  27. "SEMAKAN KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM KE – 14" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 17 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  28. "The Star Online GE14". The Star. Retrieved 24 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  29. Zakiah Koya (26 June 2020). "Syed Saddiq shortlisted for Young Politician of the Year award". The Star Online. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.