Why is Syed Saddiq doing this weird handshake with Msian kids?

With less than a week to voting day, every politician and their political party are fully out on the campaign trail, hoping to grab you by the ballots. Flags are out, ceramahs are out, and more savvy politicians have taken to social media to convince you that they’re the MP you need.

So, Syed Saddiq recently posted a video that we thought was quite interesting. It starts of with a bunch of young Malaysians talking about politics, then doing this weird ‘X’ handshake thing.

But what caught our attention was that the video isn’t asking you to vote for MUDA, Pakatan Harapan, or even for Syed Saddiq himself – rather, it’s just asking you to vote for the people who can ensure a brighter future for these kids. Here’s the full video if you wanna watch it:

We spoke to Mirzan, a media officer on Syed Saddiq’s team about the video, particularly on the weird X thing, and whether or not the video was scripted.
 

Here’s what the ‘X’ handshake really means

So of course, there’s a hope that the X handshake would become a trend, kinda like how the blue finger was a thing in GE14. Mirzan says that the X itself refers to the pangkah you’d make on the ballot paper while casting your vote, but there’s a reason why it requires more than one person to form it:

“We want to show it involves everyone. Democracy can only happen if everyone votes.” – Mirzan, in phone interview with CILISOS.

Essentially, the voting system has already been changed to make voting more accessible for many Malaysians; through lowering the voting age to 18 and automatic registration, where you don’t even have to register to vote anymore. All you need to do is check where your polling station is (Click here to check if you haven’t already), and show up on November 19th.

But more importantly, we can’t help but think that one person doing the X would come across looking like a bad Wakanda Forever impersonation.

On top of that, the tagline of Jangan biarkan Malaysia terus lemas / Don’t let Malaysia continue to drown is – of course – in reference to the controversial push by some political parties to hold an election during the rainy season, but also to the political infighting and instability that has drowned the Rakyat.

 

Kids nowadays are smarter than you think

The video starts off with young adults whom, we’re told, are under the age of 18 expressing their thoughts on Malaysian politics… and it’s a lot more mature than you might expect. Mirzan says that the talents were recruited from the general public and are not affiliated with MUDA, adding:

“They have been exposed to [political corruption] cases at an early stage. Kids are aware these days, they can also see it. They’re not stupid.” – Mirzan

On a Syed note, told us that the talents weren’t paid (outside of the lunch that was provided to them and their parents/guardians).

Apparently, the idea for the video came about because of the concern over low voter turnout, whether from political apathy (hey remember that Sheraton move?), recent by-elections in certain states, or fears that you and your ballot paper may be swept of by an incoming flood. The message they’re trying to get across is that your votes DO matter – not just for yourself, but also for the younger generation who don’t have the power to determine Malaysia’s future.

“Voting is one of your rights. You are the boss, and GE determines the direction of the country. That’s why the kids want you to vote on their behalf. To vote for THEIR future.” – Mirzan

 

So come out and vote this November 19th!

Although many of us tend to place our votes based the political party we support (or not vote if we don’t support any party), an alternative view is to vote based on the MP that can best serve you instead. There are both good and bad MPs in any party, and it might be better to vote for the one who can best represent your interest – whether in pushing or resisting certain laws, fighting for development in your constituency, or sometimes even just showing up in parliament to bring up important issues. So, if there’s an MP from a party that you support that’s not doing their job, you’re probably better off voting for someone else.

A politician’s lifeline can end every 5 years, but your future will be affected for the next 10, 20 years. The main message is you’ve got to vote. Not just for you, but for the next generation.” – Mirzan

There’s another great article by Dzof Azmi arguing the benefits of voting for candidates rather than party, which we recommend giving a read. However, we’ll end this with his parting words in his article:

“So for the young, new voters out there, I implore you: Look at the candidates you can vote for, decide which of them is worth the country’s time, and if all are equally good (or perhaps bad), only then look at the party.” – Dzof Azmi, originally published in The Star