LETTER | A letter to millennials and Gen Z

LETTER | Dear millennials and Gen Z.

The last few governments perpetrated this myth that, save for a few hiccups here and there, everything is fine in this country. They said the foreign direct investment into the country has increased. They said the country is on track to achieve positive growth in the economy.

The reality on the ground is, however, different. Income inequality has deteriorated over the last couple of decades. The incomes of top earners have risen sharply, while median income has stagnated.

Rakyat who used to be able to improve their lives and move up the social ladder are having a harder time doing so.

Globalisation has generated intense competition across the world and Malaysia is also affected both directly and indirectly.

In today’s economy and also in the foreseeable future, the companies that turn out the best products at the lowest cost are the winners. And any country that can adapt to this will see a rise in the living standards of their people as their economy becomes productive.

But for Malaysia, it is terrible news as our politicians and leaders stopped learning. So is a large section of the rakyat as evidenced by the huge outpouring of continued support for those politicians who stole from the country’s coffers. They were determined to keep doing the same things the same way.

That's why Amazon, Facebook and Google bypass Malaysia in the Asia Pacific. And this excludes the multinationals that have closed or wind up their operations in the country as our neighbours inched up the competitive ratings in every aspect making it attractive for these multinationals to relocate their operations. Our politicians and leaders simply didn't adapt.

Not one politician in the country is honest. The government kept repeating that they can somehow protect workers from becoming obsolete. That's a dangerous message to send. They can fund limited safety-net programmes and help people transition from the old to the new but they cannot protect workers from normal market forces.

That's the truth and it won't change no matter who gets elected in the 15th or 16th general election.

A large section of the rakyat is dependent on the government as evident from the continuous pressure by politicians – both ruling and in the opposition, asking the government to allow contributors to do one more withdrawal of up to RM10,000 from their savings with EPF when the fund itself confirmed in September 2021 that an astonishing 46 percent of their members below the age of 55 have less than RM10,000 in their account with half of this 46 percent have less than RM1,000 in their savings.

Potentially, it would be extremely challenging for approximately 3.5 million members of EPF to build up sufficient savings or reach the basic savings threshold of RM240,000 at age 55, before reaching their retirement age

Once those members used up this last state-sanctioned withdrawal of up to RM10,000 from their EPF accounts, they would have nowhere to turn to except for the government.

Already, the country is running out of money, a fact previously mentioned by the eighth prime minister. And already the government is demanding more from the rakyat in the guise of various taxes and new monopolies while giving less in terms of services and subsidies. That's simple math.

The ruling coalition and their supporters are more interested in the return to the good old days where they can continue with their plundering of the country’s resources unhindered and unabated.

The opposition remains stuck in the cocoon of one man’s dream who has been unable to shake off and understand why he was repeatedly betrayed by those who claimed to be close to him. All their promises of reforms and setting the country back on its path of proper governance were easily forgotten and seldom mentioned again.

The promise of greater youth participation in the Johor election after the passing of the Undi18 vote was nothing but just hot air that whiffed through our noses.

Moving forward, the millennials and the Gen Z in this country are unlikely to witness and experienced a better future for themselves as economic conditions in the country is not likely to improve, mainstream parties are seemingly lost in how to turn things around, new political parties supposedly representing the youths in Malaysia seemingly walking down the path and creating themselves in the image of the older established political parties in their outlook and policies.

Instead of looking ahead to a world of opportunities, the millennials and Gen Z now peer into an uncertain future, inheriting a weak economy that is shaped by the country’s social, political and economic landscape.

The millennials and Gen Z are digital natives who have little or no memory of the world as it existed before smartphones. They are more likely to be aware and vocal on climate change and major issues and less about race relations in the country as seen in protest gatherings where the young people gathered are racially mixed.

And these millennials and Gen Z are less trusting and abhorred the political parties and existing political systems and the institutions governing the country given the revelations of various financial mismanagement conducted by the government and its agencies.

Dear millennial and Gen Z voters, with a baseline of automatic registration and voting rights for those 18 and above, your generations will reshape the electorate over the next decade. Your influence probably would grow slowly and unevenly but it will definitely shift political influence for years to come.

Dear millennials and Gen Z, each of you has that power and right. In this country, you are not the subjects. Collectively, each of you and every Malaysian makes up the rakyat in this country.

The rakyat choose the leaders, not rulers and the rakyat hold those leaders accountable and deliver on those promises they make to you for a better future at the ballot box. In this election and in every election, the rakyat have the chance to do just that.

Over the next few months, the millennials and Gen Z will be bombarded with messaging questioning the value of your vote. Will it matter? Will it make an impact?

Dear millennials and Gen Z, you cannot show apathy and then grumble about how things are being governed and managed in this country. The baby boomers.

Dear millennials and Gen Z voters, your ballot matters and it is incredibly powerful.

Your vote is your voice - your contribution to a national discussion. It is your chance to actually do something about the critical challenges facing our nation.

If you want a prosperous and wealthy nation, free from the ills and corruption that permeates every aspect of your daily life, your vote is your voice.

If you are outraged and heartbroken following yet another revelation of corrupted acts by some politicians or some failed projects, wastage of government funds, another politician receiving a DNAA or even death in custody, your vote is your voice.

If you believe that the country can do better, your vote is your voice and your power.

Never think for a moment that your vote won’t matter or your voice is small.

Your vote is an exercise of political power. Your voice is a moral contribution to this country you live in - Malaysia.

Do not follow the mistakes of the generation of baby boomers where money has come to dominate everything so completely including those people they send to Parliament and the respective state assemblies which are best described as pathetic.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.