COMMENT | Change is coming, the Mamdani way

COMMENT | In New York City, 33-year-old democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani just defeated a party insider in the mayoral primary, powered by young, working-class voters who are fed up with a system that ignores their everyday struggles.

Mamdani (above) didn’t just win his base but built bridges, even sweeping traditionally conservative Jewish districts with over 70 percent of the vote. His victory wasn’t about identity politics. It was about survival.

Malaysia is facing its own affordability crisis, yet most political parties cling to the same tired economic playbook.

The lesson from NYC is clear: when a candidate speaks boldly about housing, wages, justice, and when that message is rooted in real policy, not public relations, younger voters mobilise. And they don’t need mainstream permission to do so.

Malaysian youth are not apathetic. They are alert, angry, and increasingly organised.

From campus protests to mutual aid networks, they’re stepping into the political vacuum left by stale leadership and safe slogans.

Ignore youth at your peril

The appetite isn’t just for representation; it’s for redistribution of opportunity, wealth, and dignity. 

Leaders who ignore this will soon find themselves speaking to empty rooms.

It’s time to stop treating bold economic proposals as political suicide. 

In a country where the cost of living outpaces wages and owning a home is a fantasy for many, demanding rent control, free education, or public housing isn’t radical but responsible.

The parties that survive the next decade will be those that stop playing defence and start offering a vision worth fighting for.

Malaysian political parties face a choice: keep managing the crisis or transform it. 

TikTok propaganda and youth wings won’t cut it. Young voters are smart. They know branding from conviction.

And if the system doesn’t speak for them, they will build one that does.

Change is no longer a question of “if” but “who will lead it” and “who will be left behind”.

CHARLES SANTIAGO is former Klang MP.

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

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