CALONKINI | Abdul Hannaan Khairy, 24, is a fresh graduate from Universiti Tun Hussein Onn’s engineering faculty. He just got hired for his first job earlier this year.

And now, Hannaan is set to be one of the youngest candidates in the 14th general election.

He is Bersatu’s candidate for his native Kayang state seat in Perlis, going against Umno’s newcomer Hamizan Hassan and PAS’ Md Radzi Hassan.

Candidates must be at least 21 years old to be eligible to contest in an election. BN chairperson Najib Abdul Razak – one of the youngest persons to become an MP in Malaysia – was just 23 when he contested and won the Pekan parliamentary seat in 1976.

But Hannaan doesn’t have Najib’s lineage. Despite being raised in a politically aware family and being active in campus politics, becoming an opposition candidate was not an obvious choice for this son of two civil servants.

Nevertheless, he said he hopes to do his part to spur investment in Perlis and give young Perlis folk like himself a reason to return home from bigger cities.

Below is his story, in his own words.

I GREW UP IN A KAMPUNG ENVIRONMENT in Kampung Behor Masjid. There are mostly paddy fields in Kayang and I grew up amongst them. I often helped my father or my late grandfather in the fields, so I see the people’s hardship there.

 My first exposure to politics was when I was four or five years old. Each night, my parents would bring home dinner and we would turn on the TV and watch Buletin Utama on TV3.

Whenever (then prime minister) Dr Mahathir Mohamad appeared on TV, my dad who was with Umno at the time would talk about him. So, I was quite impressed with him since I was little. It’s like indoctrination!

When the 2013 general election came – and before that the 2008 general election – I was directly involved in campaigning in for BN.

I also contested in the student representative council in secondary school, which is kind of like politics too. When I got to university, I saw the MPP as a medium to explore politics, so I joined Aspirasi, which is like a government party on campus.

WHEN THE RM2.6 BILLION WAS FOUND to have entered (caretaker prime minister) Najib’s bank account, I was still with Umno at the time. I still supported the leadership (and the argument) that this was just a donation and so on, so I defended him. I defended him even when many of my friends bashed me, and I defended 1MDB too.

But then Mukhriz Mahathir was asked to step down as the Kedah menteri besar and (then deputy prime minister) Muhyiddin Yassin was sacked.

If you are a normal or rational person, don’t you see what is happening? Why would Najib want to get rid of Muhyiddin and Mukhriz just because they are outspoken about 1MDB and the RM2.6 billion in his bank account?

So that was the turning point for me, I think. If you are innocent, why get busy with getting rid of these people. Just explain the issue; why keep quiet until no one knows how to defend you?

At first, I didn’t think someone as young as me would get to contest, but if you don’t take the first step, when would someone take the first step? Najib was only 23 when he contested in an election, and that was a long time before this 24-year-old – and turning 25 – decided to contest.

My mom was not okay with it at first; my dad was very okay because he’s very into politics! It’s just my mom wasn’t, and even (Bersatu youth chief) Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman came to my house to persuade her. Seriously!

She was thinking about my future. She was sceptical – I’m young and I’m with the opposition, and I may not win because Perlis is said to be a safe seat for BN.

So she said, “You’ll have no hope. Why do you want to destroy your future. You won’t be able to find a job and all that afterwards.” But I assured her that I did not quit my job, just that I have taken unpaid leave.

My CEO said, “Okay, if you want to run in the election, you go and run in the election. I support the you, so you take leave. Unpaid leave of course, and for as long as you want but you must win the election. If you lose, you come back to work.”

MY FAMILY IS ALSO VERY SUPPORTIVE. My cousins from Negri Sembilan and from Kuala Lumpur are taking a week off to campaign together, so they are with my team. If Saddiq has Team Saddiq, this is Team Hannaan.

I WANT TO CONTEST FOR A STATE ASSEMBLY SEAT BECAUSE I see that the representatives before this don’t care about the people, so I want to care about the people in my constituency.

I won’t have other work, so I think I’ll have a lot of time to go on the ground, know what they want, what they need, and those are the things that I’ll help give to the people as best I can.

Take paddy in Kayang for example. It fetches a high price, but the deductions by the factories are high too, so the income is smaller than before.

The roads are damaged, and the houses are in disrepair. A lot of people live in hardship in the villages there. The government provides aid, but it doesn’t reach the people who need it. That’s what motivates me to serve the people.

So, if possible, I want to be one of the people who can inspire the youth – that you could contest in an election even though you are young.

ELECTIONS ARE NOT ABOUT WHETHER YOU ARE OLD OR EXPERIENCED. It is about you having the spirit to help the people and the community.

CALONKINI introduces new faces from all sides of the political divide in the run-up to the 14th general election.

These interviews are not an endorsement by Malaysiakini.

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