DARFUR

Five years
l a t e r >10

Wednesday
5 MARCH
2008
thestar.com.my/lifestyle

MIND OUR ENGLISH

Learn how to throw

a Porsche >11

YOUTH

Voicing political
opinions online >4

Helping hands
Youth2 gives recognition to the young volunteers
working tirelessly behind the scenes in election
campaigns. > 2-3

T2

YOUTH

EDITOR: IVY SOON / youth2@thestar.com.my / 03-7967 1693

STARTWO, WEDNESDAY 5 MARCH 2008

YOUTH

Strange attraction
A 16-year-old is bullied by her
classmate but has gradually
gotten used to it, and even
enjoys his company. One day,
he steals a kiss. >6

Doing their bit

OVER A CUPPA

Old-age woes
The ravages of age can leave
even the most powerful man
helpless and undignified. >9

FOCUS

No end in sight
Five years on, with 200,000
killed, the people of Darfur still
live with terror daily. >10

HEALTH

Bodily signals
A guide to making sense of
what your body is telling you
about your health. >14

TV

Munirah Kader Shah, founder of Youth For Shahrizat, sticking a car sticker on a vendors stall. More than a dozen youths stormed the
Bangsar Baru night market in Kuala Lumpur distributing T-shirts, pastries and flowers as they encouraged residents to vote for Datuk Seri
Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.
By NIKI CHEONG
niki@thestar.com.my

F
Criminal minds
With seven seasons under its
belt, and its eighth premiering
in Malaysia tonight, CSI: Crime
Scene Investigation proves it
can go the distance. >20

OR a long time now, there has been this

perception that young people are apathetic and unconcerned about politics.
However, there seems to be a recognition on
the need to mobilise the young in this general
election
Political parties, both from the ruling
Government and the Opposition have fielded
younger candidates in their attempt to remain
relevant to Malaysians, 55% of whom are
below the age of 24. The increase in media
channels have also sparked interest among a
new generation of young Malaysians who look
set to exercise their rights to vote come March
8.
Most significantly though is the fact that

StarTwo

EDITOR: LIM CHENG HOE

CONTACT
email: startwo@thestar.com.my
tel: 03-7967 1388
fax: 03-7955 4039
ADVERTISING:
Janet Khaw
janet@thestar.com.my
(03) 7966-8221
Peter Hoe
peterhoe@thestar.com.my
(03) 7966-8236
Jeanie Chiew
jean@thestar.com.my
(03) 7966-8224

Fahmi Fadzil
(right) and
Grey Yeoh
(second right)
documenting
their interview
with Subang
parliamentary seat
candidate for PKR,
Sivarasa Rasiah.

many candidates among them Barisan

Nasionals Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and
Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun, DAPs Charles
Santiago and PKRs Sivarasa Rasiah have
turned to young people to actively assist them
in their campaigns.

Jacks of all trades

Nicole Wong, 29, has taken two weeks off
from her job to help out with Chews campaign. The sales manager is working on an
elections campaign for the first time, but is the
person behind all of the Petaling Jaya Utara
incumbents ceramahs.
I am in charge of all the arrangements for
YBs ceramahs. I am helping her because she
has given us a chance to be a leader, Nicole
says.

Nicoles fellow volunteers, Ong Yu Pey, 25,

and Tee Tze Wei, 29, feel the same way.
We are very young in politics and in the
party, but she is giving us a chance. She is
training us up as the new generation (in politics), says Yu Pey who has just returned from
studying in China .
While these three ladies have their respective responsibilities Yu Pey helps out with
activities, while Tze Wei is in charge of logistics and sound systems they are also out on
the ground canvassing for votes.
An average day for the three of them starts
as early as 5am where they would all meet up
and start going on their rounds. This would
include house-to-house visits, appearances at
the market and the regular meetings back at
the Bilik Gerakan in Kelana Jaya. Some days,
they are part of Damansara Utama state seat
candidate Victor Gus cycling team when they
move about on bicycles to reach out to residents in Victors constituency.
Most days, we only get a few hours sleep,
Nicole shares.
Bicycles aside, this is the sort of schedule
that most of the other young volunteers keep
to. In Klang, where prominent activist Charles
Santiago is running for a parliamentary seat,
his media liaison Leong Mei Yee talks about
how hectic things have been since nomination
day.
Like the three MCA volunteers, Mei Yee too
takes on more than just her portfolio
Im the media person, so I help make
arrangements with the press. But I also work
on documentation whenever needed. Some
days, I take video and notes to be uploaded

STARTWO, WEDNESDAY 5 MARCH 2008

Press liaison Leong Mei Yee

(left) and campaign
coordinator Sarah Devaraj do
more than just focus on their
respective portfolios in DAP
candidate Charles Santiagos
campaign.

Power of youth
On Sunday night, almost 15 teenagers
armed with T-shirts, caps, flowers and
pastries stormed the Bangsar Baru night
market. While traders were peddling their
goods, these bunch of youths wearing Youth
for Shahrizat T-shirts stopped passers-by
telling them to come out to vote on polling
day, and to vote for Shahrizat, the incumbent
MP for Lembah Pantai.
Excuse me, do you live in Bangsar? Vote
for Kak Shahrizat okay?
Munirah Kader Shah, 26, is the founder of
Youth for Shahrizat. Just over a week ago, this
public relations senior executive was just
going about her life as usual.
She, however, decided that she wants to be
involved in the general election. Gathering
other young people from the area, Munirah
started organising daily meetings at nearby
mamak spots after work where they would
plan their strategies to spread the good word
about Shahrizat to anyone willing to listen.
I wanted to be part of the elections
because we (youths) matter ... this is our

T3

Munirah and fellow

Youth for Shahrizat
member Pravin Pillai.

future, I would love to

contribute more to the
community.
The Youth For Shahrizat
group however just want
to show Malaysia that
young people are capable,
and not as apathetic as they
are perceived to be.
Youths are capable
people and as long as we
have the passion, it doesnt
matter if we play a big or
small part, Munirah says,
adding that, Politics is not a
privilege, its an obligation. As
long as Im able to be involved,
Ill do it.
For some of these youths,
getting involved in the elections
is also a way to dispel
perceptions of their
complacency when it comes to
the issues and politics.
Two months ago, my dad and
his friends were talking politics
when one of the friends turned to
me and just asked, Are you a
registered voter? I said no and he
turned to my dad and said, See,
young kids nowadays.
I got a bit offended because its
not that I wasnt going to register,
just that it was not in line with my
plans then to go overseas and not
come back, explains Grey Yeoh, 23,
who is also helping out with Sivarasas campaign.
Plans changed and by the time I wanted
to, it was too late.
So, getting involved in a campaign was
Greys way for making up for not voting.
For Mei Yee, she feels that she can help
make a difference.
I tell my friends, even though its been
crazy, Im part of the election process. Im part
of deciding something important for the
country.
Then there is also the youth ideal that they
are invincible and that the world is their
oyster.
Everyone wants to change the world in
their own way. Some people chose to do it
using politics, Pravin opines.
Fahmi too shares this sentiment.
Its not so hard to make some kind of
change. Its just about taking ownership of
participation in a public political process.

MCA BeliaWanis
member Nicole
Wong is helping
out Petaling Jaya
Utara incumbent
Datin Paduka Chew
Mei Fun with her
election campaign.

onto Charles blog, she explains.

Despite the tiring hours they take on, none
of them are complaining.
Im still very excited, Nicole shared. We
play very important roles.
Fahmi Fadzil, who helps Subang parliamentary candidate Sivarasa with his communication work such as designing fliers and updating his campaign website, likened the feeling
to sitting for an examination.
It feels like final exam week in university.
So much adrenaline and energy, he says.

YOUTH

country, Munirah says. We all have

concerns but instead of just sitting down
to chit chat about it, I thought it would be
better to start something we are passionate
about.
At the pasar malam, this group of youths
were selling their goodies in exchange for
peoples time to stop and listen to their spin.
Some of us actually have single mothers
whom Shahrizat has done so much for. You
can see the difference in our mothers faces,
says 26-year-old Pravin Pillai, another member of Youth For Shahrizat said, referring to
the Minister for Women, Family and
Community Development.
So we made up a bunch of fliers about
how Kak Shahrizat has affected us.
Each of these youths volunteers have their
own reasons for helping a particular candidate with their campaigns. For Munirah and
Pravin, it is all about the candidate. The same
goes for Mei Yee and Sarah Devaraj,
Santiagos campaign coordinator.
Both are not members of DAP and agreed
to help out because they believe in Santiago.
I will support Charles as an individual, a
man of credibility, integrity and honesty,
Sarah, 30, says.
Fahmi shares the same sentiments about
Sivarasa.
I believe in Siva, and what he says. There is
a lot of clarity and I am attracted to that,
asserts Fahmi, who will be voting in
Segambut.
As for the three MCA ladies, they are helping out as much for Datin Paduka Chew as
they are for the party. They are members of

BeliaWanis (MCAs young womens bureau)

and have been helping the party out for a
couple of years now on ground events.

A new generation cometh

Candidates aside, these youths are also getting involved because they believe that the
time is prime for young people to play a bigger role in politics.
For Nicole, this elections will serve as a
learning opportunity for her, as she intends to
make a career out of politics.
I am interested in politics, in particular the
issues of young women. But no matter what,
we have to do our part first. We play an
important role and this gives us confidence,
she says.
And for others like Yu Pey, this is her way
of giving back to the community.
Im taking this as a learning platform and
trying very hard to learn, she says. In the