YOUNGEST-EVER MP TELLS OF HIS IDOL, AND WHAT DREW HIM TO POLITICS
Batu MP P. Prabakaran wants to encourage the younger generation to speak up
PRABAKARAN, 22, broke a 41-year record held by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for being the youngest general election candidate. Najib contested the Pekan parliamentary seat at the age of 23 on Feb 21, 1979.
Prabakaran, or better known as Praba among his friends, won the Batu parliamentary seat with a majority of 24,438 votes.
The law undergraduate garnered 38,125 votes, defeating Barisan Nasional’s Dr Dominic Lau Hoe Chai (13,687 votes), Pas’ Azhar Yahya (10,610 votes) and independent Datuk V.M. Panjamothy (383 votes).
Here, he shares with the New Sunday Times a little bit of his life as a boy from Sentul, how he feels being the youngest lawmaker and his plans.
Question: Tell us briefly about yourself.
Answer: I’m from the fourth generation of my family.
My grandfather used to live opposite Pasar Sentul in Jalan 15, Sentul. He worked for Keretapi Tanah Melayu.
My father is a businessman. I have an elder brother, he is 25 years old.
I’m living with my family now. I’m doing my degree in law, and it’s my second year at Brickfields Q: Who or what inspired you to join politics? Are any of your family members involved in politics? A: No, no one in my family is involved in politics.
I choose politics because I want to be the voice of youth and bring up issues that they are facing.
Nowadays, most politicians and members of parliament are aged 50 years old and above.
It was published in BBC News that the median age of members of parliament was 54.
I choose politics because I want to be the voice of youth and bring up issues that they are facing. Nowadays, most politicians and members of parliament are aged 50 years old and above.
So, they will only focus on their generation, my grandfather’s generation.
I want to focus on youth so that they will have the courage to raise their voice and people will acknowledge us.
That’s why I want to change their mindset.
Q: You are currently a student. Do you think you can juggle your studies and politics?
A: It’s all about time management.
I will manage my time by separating myself as a member of parliament and an undergraduate.
Normally, I will have class during weekdays. I need to consult my counsellors and I will come up with a plan as to where I will study during my weekdays.
Q: Where do you see yourself in five years? Are you aiming for a post in the cabinet? If yes, which ministry are you eyeing?
A: The Sports Ministry.
I feel that our nation lacks sports activities for the younger generation.
Some youth are going in the wrong direction. They are getting themselves involved in illegal activities, to the extent that they are labelled as such, such as Indians being associated with gangsters, Malays being mat rempit and Chinese being gamblers.
Once there are activities for youth, they won’t take the wrong path. The same goes for education.
Q: Do you play sports?
A: Yes, I play hockey. My team went up to the state level. I was the striker.
My team was the champion for the Sentul zone, but at the Federal Territories level, we got second place.
Q: How do you think you can uplift the lives of people in Batu? What would be your main focus?
A: For now, it is mainly the parking problem, traffic congestion and the economy, in terms of job opportunities. I hope to improve all of that.
Q: Can you tell us about your social life?
A: I love to go out with my friends during my free time, and we also participate in social services. We used to do a lot of social service.
Other than that, I watch YouTube a lot. I watch rock videos, news, parliamentary debates in other countries, like Canada and the United States.
Q: What’s your views on Malaysian politics? Do you have an idol in Malaysian politics or public service?
A: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is my idol.
Why is he my idol? Although he is 93 years old, he still cares for our country. It shows that, as a citizen, you also need to be as passionate as him to serve the people. Q: What’s your opinion on media freedom, especially now, with representatives divided in their views about what the state should do when it comes to mainstream media?
A: The media is in a highly responsible position to promote the work of politicians. That is a huge responsibility, to connect politicians and people.
So, I feel they should be careful about what they carry. I had faced issues with the media before, as they had published things that I did not say.
Q: How do you think you can inspire youth to be involved in politics? A: My age factor. It really inspires a lot of young people because they had no idea that you can join politics at a very young age.
It changes many people’s mindset that age is not a barrier to joining politics or serving the people.
Q: You contested on an independent ticket and crossed over to PKR. Many regard this as party hopping, and a betrayal of the voters’ mandate, could you elaborate why you made this decision?
A: Politics is my chosen career, so I had to start somewhere. Contesting as an independent served as a stepping stone.
I did not join any other party because I wanted to open up people’s mindset that you don’t need a party to serve the people.
I also wanted to raise awareness among youth to participate in politics. I did not join the election just to win, I wanted to create an impact on the younger generation.
And, unfortunately, Tian Chua could not compete in the 14th General Election. When they endorsed me, I took the golden opportunity to work with them to up build my platform.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is my idol. Why is he my idol? Although he is 93 years old, he still cares for our country. It shows that, as a citizen, you also need to be as passionate as him to serve the people.
Q: Why did you feel you needed to align yourself with PKR? Based on your legal studies, don’t you feel Parliament needs more independent voices?
A: Like I said, I felt this is a golden opportunity.
And, most of the people around me, about 99 per cent, encouraged me to join PKR.
If you look at the past 10 years that Batu has been under PKR, you would see that it was the right choice.