An analyst has panned Muda’s attempt to make headway in the upcoming Sabah state election, saying the party will be hampered by its reliance on social media without grassroots support.
Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia said Sabah was not a core area for Muda, which has mainly relied on Pakatan Harapan support to secure election wins in Peninsular Malaysia.
The victories involved were in Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman’s parliamentary seat of Muar, and acting president Amira Aisya Abd Aziz’s Puteri Wangsa state seat.
“Muda lacks strong grassroots support and operates more through social media. If it struggles to win in Peninsular Malaysia, it will find it even harder in Sabah,” Mazlan told FMT.
“Young leaders should set realistic expectations. There’s no problem in contributing to democracy, but Muda’s attempt in Sabah is beyond its capabilities.”
On Sunday, Muda’s Sabah chief Faezrah Rizalman reportedly said that the party was planning to contest up to 10 seats in the state election.
She said Muda would focus on urban seats and campaign online as it has only about 5,000 members.
Tawfik Yaakub of Universiti Malaya said Muda was “daydreaming”, citing a lack of prominent figures to lead the party’s campaign in the state.
He said Muda lacked a clear successor to Syed Saddiq, who stepped down as president in November 2023 to focus on his appeal in his corruption case involving Bersatu Youth funds.
In the 2022 general election, Muda’s sole candidate in Sabah, Shahrizal Denci, was defeated in a six-cornered contest for the Kota Marudu parliamentary seat, securing only 3,225 votes.
