At the end of June, when Malaysians were fighting with a worsening pandemic, the pictures of black flags and people waving them from their cars or homes emerged on social media.
Until that time, the toll of Covid-19 hit a new peak, with more than 20,000 new cases and 200 deaths reported daily. The protesters were demanding the resignation of then Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. About 40 youth activist groups calling themselves Sekretariat Solidariti Rakyat (SSR) initiated the black flag movement.
This group first came together in March to protest against the delay of implementation of the law stating the lowering of the voting age from 21 to 18. This law was passed in parliament in July 2019.
As per the reports of AlJazeera, the political analyst Bridget Welsh said that the delay by the government in implementing the legislation after it was passed became the catalyst for the disaffection felt by many young people.
In Malaysia, young people find their voice amid a pandemic https://t.co/MJNB0Yg5M9
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) September 28, 2021
Some other factors are the high unemployment rate among 15 to 30-year-olds, unfulfilled wages, and unaffordable housing in a pandemic. Malaysia’s political upheavals have intensified all this since the 2018 general election, which resulted in two changes in the government since February last year and the devastation wrought by the pandemic.
While Malaysia coped with the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic relatively well, the situation escalated out of control after a snap election in the Borneo state of Sabah in September 2020. In January this year, politicians within the Prime Minister Muhyiddin fragile alliance continued to jolt for power and with the surge in the cases of Covid-19. He announced a state of emergency and suspended the parliament, which further became an extended lockdown.
Many people of Malaysia have turned to social media platforms, and young people found them on the front line of political activism when the older generations were more vulnerable to the Covid-19 virus. Welsh described the movement as largely urban.
Preparing the new youth leaders
The pandemic and the issues raised have pushed youth activism well beyond the votes. Youth groups are now campaigning for various causes like refugee rights, climate change, decriminalize suicide, dissecting policies into more understandable and shareable forms through social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Many young Malaysians are also raising their voices in other ways. In July, the junior contract doctors went on strike to fight for the greater job security who made the bulk of the medical workers.
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