KUALA LUMPUR: Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who has been appointed Youth and Sports Minister at the age of 25, is set to become the voice of the youth in the country.
Nominated as a candidate for the first time in the 14th general election, Syed Saddiq, who represented Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) , surpr ised many people when he won the Muar parliamentary seat, defeating the more experienced Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Datuk Seri Razali Ibrahim and PAS candidate Abdul Aziz Talib with a majority of 6,953 votes.
The youngest of four siblings, Syed Saddiq was born on Dec 6, 1992, in Pulai, Johor Bahru, and obtained his early education at Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Perling, Johor Bahru, before getting his secondary education at the Sultan Abu Bakar College and the Royal Millitary College. He later furthered his studies at the International Islamic University Malaysia (UIAM), actively participating in debates and representing the university in several international competitions.
These included the United Asian Debating Championship (UADC) in Bali, Indonesia, where he was the best Asian debater and the Australasia, Cambridge and Oxford Inter-varsity competitions between 2012 and 2014 where he emerged the best debater.
He was also the best Asian debater for three times, the best Oxford and Cambridge Inter-varsity debater (thrice) and the best OIC Islamic world debater (twice), Holding a law degree from UIAM, Syed Saddiq had served as a lecturer in his alma mater and later as a research officer with Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. He is also PPBM Youth chief and among the founders of the party in 2016. He is also a member of the Pakatan Harapan Supreme Council. – Bernama
