The future is bright with Abe Lim and Syed Saddiq

In a rare joint interview, MUDA members Abe Lim and Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman open up about youth politics, what young people really want from their leaders, and what drives them as public servants of their generation.

What would make a law graduate and debating champion abandon the idea of a successful corporate career for a life in politics? You’d have to be bold and idealistic, principled, and passionate, and perhaps a little crazy. You’d also have to be at the right place at the right time.

In 2018, when the then 25-year-old Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman was at the crossroads many young people are when it comes to making major career decisions, global politics strongly suggested that the world’s young people were increasingly disengaged from political life. They were voting less, rejecting party membership, and telling researchers that their country’s leaders weren’t working in their interests, which was a gap Saddiq wanted to fill here in Malaysia.

Five years later, the Muar MP and Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA) president estimates that, collectively, we are about halfway there. “I believe there is still a huge gap in having young leaders not just treated as leaders of tomorrow, but leaders of today,” he says. “We need to have young leaders who focus on policies and data-driven debates to turbocharge Malaysia into becoming a developed country.”

Charming and polished, Saddiq says all the right things in his trademark debater tones. Fellow MUDA member Abe Lim, a law graduate, entrepreneur, and climate activist who stood for the Bandar Utama seat in the recent elections, makes the same point differently. “Young people often feel disconnected because they struggle to relate,” Abe points out. “The older generation treats mental health and climate change as afterthoughts, while they’re stuck in repetitive political battles that don’t resonate with the young. The challenges of our time demand more than just passive acceptance; they demand proactive change.”

So, what do young people want in their leaders? “Hope, a clear vision of the future, and principles,” he says, as the hairstylist sweeps a gel-filled comb through Saddiq’s dark coif. “Why I say clear vision is because the young want to know what the ideas, policies, and direction are that a given leader will take us to. Hope is because an inspirational leader can move people and build a strong movement to actualise that dream. This is not a one-person journey, but a collective journey. Principles because while politics is about rising up and falling down, it is principles that ground you and ensure you remember who you are and where you came from.”

During a joint interview and photoshoot with Abe and Saddiq, Prestige Malaysia gets a front row seat not just to the duo’s charisma and energy as leaders but also their take on serious topics like voter fatigue among their age group. They take well to direction behind the camera, sportingly posing for our lensman, and appear to entirely enjoy the process of making it to the cover of a magazine. Saddiq is especially interested in the mechanism that powers the Chopard Alpine Eagle watch that he is accessorised with for the shoot, in particular the charities it benefits. “I sort of get why Linda Evangelista said she wouldn’t get out of bed for less than 10,000 dollars,” Saddiq quips. Enjoy it, we tell him—the next interview he is rushing to with a newspaper might not be as exciting. This elicits yet another laugh.

Abe and Saddiq are among the most vocal from their party championing for social, economic and political reforms, which make them especially interesting to talk to. As the CEO of Purpose Plastics, an independent plastic waste management company, Abe is especially passionate about sustainability, environmental awareness, and climate change. Although she ultimately lost the seat that she stood for, her focus remains steadfast.

“I want to shine a bright light on how politics and the environment are deeply connected, so that everyone can understand and act on it,” she states. “Policies are tools to be given to the public, businesses, organisations, in order to carry out their day to day in a more efficient and inclusive way—that’s how climate and social justice is intertwined, and therefore, it affects economic development.”

Although united now in their political aim, Abe and Saddiq share vastly different childhoods. The son of a schoolteacher who impressed upon him the value of democracy, Saddiq was in some ways destined for a life in politics. But in the home of the Ipoh-born Abe, politics was considered taboo—as a family of entrepreneurs in the oil and gas industry, the party line at home was to quietly work with the government of the day.

While Saddiq would attend the elite Royal Military College, Abe attended public school in Ipoh and switched over to private school when her parents got frustrated with the indecision over the teaching of maths and science in English. “That was the first time I experienced the idea of education inequality: if you could afford it, you got to choose,” she says thoughtfully. “Growing up, I had my group of public school friends and private school friends so I was always aware of the disparity, and I also grew to understand how people are born into their circumstance. How come I have all this, how come some are struggling? It’s a question of birthright, and how that affects what opportunities you get in the future.”

“I must acknowledge that my journey has been facilitated by privilege,” shares Abe, addressing a hot topic that kept coming up during the elections. “Coming from a privileged background has provided me with opportunities to effect change. However, with privilege comes responsibility. If you possess the power to make a difference, I believe you are duty-bound to do something about it. And I want to emphasise that climate change is not an elitist issue, and it affects the poorest and the most vulnerable communities.”

Editor NASEEM RANDHAWA
Writer ANANDHI GOPINATH
Photography IAN WONG
Stylist WEECHEE
Hair Artist KAY TUAN
Make-up Artist KEVIN LEE
Stylist’s Assistant NATASHA TAN
Shot on Location at CASTRA BY COLONY

(Main image: (On Abe) Watch: Chopard Happy Sport; Trench coat: CK Calvin Klein. (On Saddiq) Watch: Chopard L.U.C. Quattro; Turtleneck: Loro Piana.) 

(On the cover (image below): (On Abe) Watch: Chopard; Pleated dress and Chelsea boots: Hermès. (On Saddiq) Watch: Chopard; Shirt, pants, and shoes: Hermès)

This cover story first appeared in Prestige Malaysia’s October 2023 issue. To read the full story, pick up a copy in store or subscribe on Magzter.

The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.

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