Don’t rush into politics at young age, says PKR’s Wong Chen

Don’t rush into politics at young age, says PKR’s Wong Chen

PETALING JAYA: Subang MP Wong Chen has discouraged the younger generation from rushing into politics, citing a lack of reliable role models in Malaysia’s political sphere.

The PKR man said it would be better off for them to gain several years of experience building their own career before entering politics.

“The first thing you must do is not enter politics at a young age. You should go and get married, have children and work in the corporate sector for a few years, 10 years at least.

“If you still feel strongly about politics (after 10 years), then enter politics,” he said in response to a question at the Asean Youth Economic Forum 2025 today.

He was asked for advice for the younger generation looking to get involved with politics.

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Wong said the natural course for political participation among youths was to follow a mentor. However, he believed there were not many competent politicians who could play the role well.

“Corruption is rife in this country and throughout the region, If you want to get into politics, you need to bring your own character. And that character only comes from working,” he said.

However, he encouraged the younger generation to still take part in activities related to politics by volunteering for political parties, and joining associations and clubs.

There has been a noticeable increase in youth participation in politics in recent years, particularly following constitutional amendments to lower the voting age to 18, dubbed Undi18.

P Prabakaran became the nation’s youngest MP after being elected as Batu MP in the 2018 general election at the age of 22.

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While he contested as an independent candidate, he received Pakatan Harapan’s backing after then PKR vice-president Tian Chua was barred from contesting.

Prabakaran later joined PKR.

Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman also made history in 2018 by becoming Malaysia’s youngest federal minister at the age of 25.

The former youth and sports minister then co-founded Muda, which means “young” in Malay, in December 2021. Muda is commonly known as a youth party.