Vote or it’s Najib for another 10 years, Pakatan tells youth

By Asila Jalil

MALAYSIAN youth must vote at the 14th general election (GE14) or face at least another 10 years of high rates of unemployment and corruption under the administration of Prime Minister Najib Razak, Pakatan Harapan leaders said last night.

PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar said the opposition will never be able to take over the government if younger Malaysians do not see the urgency for change.

“There are a lot of youths here, if we do not feel the need to change the federal government (at GE14), we will be stuck under Najib’s administration for another 10 years,” she told a crowd of hundreds at the Love Malaysia, End Kleptocracy ceramah at Bandar Saujana Putra.

The Lembah Pantai MP said one of the main issues that PH will tackle if it comes into power is the high rate of youth unemployment, adding that graduating with a degree no longer guarantees younger Malaysians a job.

“There are almost 500,000 unemployed youths in the country because the job sector does not target graduates’ needs. It is a big problem,” she said.

Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua, who shared a presentation on the multi-billion-ringgit scandal involving state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), said corruption and mismanagement of government funds stand to destroy the country, leaving the next generation with a broken nation.

“We cannot tolerate the government if we allow Najib to continue being the prime minister. We have to work hard to ensure a brighter future for the next generation,” he said.

DAP national legal bureau chairman Gobind Singh Deo said other Barisan Nasional coalition members were doing an injustice to the country by keeping mum on the 1MDB scandal.

“BN is not just Najib. What about the other leaders (in BN)?  Why are they keeping quiet? Do they agree with what has happened? Can we put our future in their hands?

“We, as the people, we need to strengthen a system, we need a two-party system, which means there are two parties that can govern.

“This to ensure there is no abuse of power from the previous government,” said Gobind.

A businessman, who wanted to be known as Rao, said the country needed a change of government to clear out the corruption and bad governance.

“We will have a (better) future if we change the government because now everybody is suffering and even my daughter who had graduated, is still unemployed,” said the 50-year-old.

Another attendee, who wanted to be known as Maran, said instead of focusing on how the current government was wrong, PH should clearly state how it intends to govern the country if it wins GE14.
“I came to find out what the opposition has to say. We all know about 1MDB. Tell us what will you do when you come into power.

“We all need to know what are your plans , what is your leadership, how will you implement your plan in the next five years,” he said.

Last night’s ceramah was part of a nationwide PH roadshow, which first started in Penaga, Kepala Batas, and will end with a rally at Padang Timur Petaling Jaya on October 14.