The Old People Problem in Malaysian Politics

They are still around when most of them are dead!

Malaysia has a problem that nobody wants to talk about in parliament, but it's been festering since independence: our political system is dominated by elderly leaders who refuse to let go. From Mahathir becoming the world's oldest elected prime minister at 92 to the ongoing implosion of Bersatu to the mass expulsions from UMNO, we're watching the same pattern repeat itself across every major political party.

The older generation isn't just holding on to power—they're actively blocking, sacking, and destroying any younger politicians who dare to challenge them or push for reform. Whether it's Muhyiddin yeeting out his critics, Zahid Hamidi expelling reformers like KJ, or Hadi Awang positioning himself as president for life, Malaysia's political elite are trapped in an infinite loop of control that they cannot escape. 

The contrast with Singapore couldn't be starker. While Goh Chok Tong once posted a shade-filled Facebook message about enjoying retirement as a septuagenarian unlike "nonagenarian Mahathir," the underlying point was serious: Singapore actively recruits, invests in, and transitions power to the next generation because they know they won't be around forever. 

Lawrence Wong has spoken about how one of the hardest tasks in Singaporean politics is finding and paying millions to attract the best people into government service. Meanwhile, Malaysia's political parties are hemorrhaging talent, not because we lack capable young leaders, but because our elderly guard has egos too large to accommodate actual succession planning. 

The result is a fragile, brittle system built entirely around individual personalities rather than institutions. This isn't about disrespecting elders or dismissing their contributions—many of these figures genuinely fought for their communities and helped build modern Malaysia. 

But life is finite, and refusing to acknowledge that fact doesn't make it less true. Every day that passes without proper mentorship and leadership transition is another day of lost experience for the younger generation. When these leaders inevitably pass away with no succession plan in place, we'll be left with a broken political system that was built purely around their personalities.

Whether we fix this through cultural change, reducing political backstabbing, or forcing institutional reform, the question remains urgent: will Malaysia's old guard start building the next generation before it's too late, or will they hold on until their final breath and leave us to pick up the pieces?