Azura Nasron of Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) said it was problematic that youth put too much faith in political figures because it meant they were more inclined to believe the words of individual politicians, disregarding human rights values and ideals in the process.

“There is too much belief in political figures when their points of views or opinions change over time.

“For instance, a young person may support PAS and the Islamic party may have supported refugees three years ago, but it has now become xenophobic.

“If youth follow their political leader, they’ll follow negative ideas rather than uphold human rights,” she said at the launch of Sisters in Islam (SIS) and Merdeka Center’s survey on Malaysian Muslim youth.

Azura said idolising individual politicians was further evident in the strong social media support given to former prime minister Najib Razak, who is currently on trial for criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering.

She added that the country must address this issue to ensure youth prioritise constructive and democratic ideals and values.

Azura was commenting on the findings of SIS and Merdeka Center’s Malaysian Muslim youth survey, which found that youth were more focused on individual leaders rather than parties or local issues.

The survey was conducted between late October 2021 to January 2022, involving 1,216 Muslim youths nationwide aged 15 to 25.