Are the youth of today being taken seriously? It’s a question that goes through the mind of artiste Alena Murang, who broke barriers and overcame taboos as the first female sape’ player and teacher in Malaysia. She has observed over the past few years how young people are more vocal regarding Malaysia’s policies, and they want to see change moving forward.
A big driver for this comes from the fact that the youths are very active on social media. “There is no doubt that they love Malaysia, but they are often disappointed by the politics of the day. There’s definitely a cry for change from some of them as they want to see the country thrive and succeed,” the 31-year-old says.
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The Borneo-born Dayak-European says, for too long, the opinion of young people isn’t valued or heard as Malaysian society often values the opinion of older individuals. That being said, things are slowly changing as the youth of today are more vocal than their predecessors. Many are active and outspoken through their social media accounts, particularly TikTok and Instagram.
She cites how back in May, 17-year-old Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam called out her male physical education teacher who allegedly made rape jokes during class. To Murang, who is also a Gen.T honouree, it is encouraging that youth culture is changing, and they are speaking up whenever they see social injustice and that something needs to be done.
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Candidly, she admires how bold young people are today as they are taking action by organising campaigns whenever they see something wrong. She believes many do this because they feel it is their civic duty and responsibility. This is especially true when you see them crying out especially on issues like climate change and wildlife conservation. She suspects this could be because many are inspired by other youths from around the world.
