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Youth in the Politics of Transition in Malaysia 133

to approach youth or students. e Islamist party had already long-previously
established a cadre system on campus, where its proxy student wings, Gabungan
Mahasiswa Islam Se-Malaysia (GAMIS, Pan-Malaysian Muslim Students’
Association) and Persatuan Mahasiswa Islam (PMI, Muslim Students’ Union),
had consistently participated in campus elections. ese campus organisations
were guided by an uno cial committee acting as liaison with the Youth wing
of PAS, Dewan Pemuda PAS.
At that time, several non-party organisations actively carried out civic
education among youths. Among them were Komunite Seni Jalan Telawi
(KSJT, Telawi Street Arts Community), formed in 2003, and the Middle
Eastern Graduate Centre (MEGC), formed in 2007. Although both of these
organisations are not directly under the in uence of any political party, they
are part of Institut Kajian Dasar (IKD, Institute for Policy Research), which
is closely linked to PKR. IKD is a think-tank established in 1985 under the
auspices of former Malaysian deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, whose
subsequent ouster sparked Reformasi. It is widely known for its intellectual
endeavours and participation in the policymaking process.
While other organisations were also important—especially non-
governmental organisations (NGOs) such as Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM,
Voice of the Malaysian People), Pusat Komunikasi Masyarakat (KOMAS,
Centre for Popular Communications), and Aliran Kesedaran Negara (Aliran,
National Consciousness Movement)—KSJT and MEGC were among the rst
groups focusing systematically on political education for Malay youths after
Reformasi.
After Reformasi ‘failed’ to bring down the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN,
National Front) and its lead component party, the United Malays National
Organisation (UMNO), after two general elections, IKD realised that more
2
e ort was needed outside electoral politics, especially to advance discourses
of democracy among Malays. Malay youths became their focus. While KSJT
focused on culturally critical issues, MEGC focused on promoting more
progressive interpretations of Islam among Malays. Some of the key persons
in KSJT and MEGC had formal Islamic-education backgrounds. eir
resemblance to the roles of the nationalist Kaum Muda (Young Faction) during
the 1940s added a tinge of romanticism and made KSJT and MEGC more
appealing to Malay-Muslim youths.
After the 12th general election in 2008, which saw opposition parties’
snatching control of ve states and coming together as Pakatan Rakyat (People’s
Pact, PR), these political-education training programmes began to mushroom,
becoming more structured and organised. MEGC and IKD, both sponsored

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