Komuniti minoriti dan pembentukan landskap politik lokal: Penglibatan politik belia Siam di Semenanjung Malaysia (Minority community and the shaping of local political landscape: Political involvement of Siamese youth in Peninsular Malaysia)

Abstract

Makalah ini membincangkan penglibatan politik belia Siam di Semenanjung Malaysia. Wacana politik di Malaysia masih lagi berlegar dalam lingkungan politik komuniti majoriti semata-mata. Wacana politik komuniti minoriti seakan-akan dipinggirkan. Realitinya, komuniti minoriti juga menyumbang kepada perkembangan politik negara. Pasca Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-12 (PRU 12), belia minoriti khususnya dalam kalangan komuniti Siam dilihat sebagai golongan penting dalam mencorak landskap politik negara terutamadalam Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-13 (PRU 13) khususnya di beberapa buah negeri yang dominan dengan komuniti Siam seperti Kedah, Kelantan dan Perlis. PRU 12 telah memberikan kesan besar kepada perubahan landskap politik Malaysia. Keputusan PRU 12 menunjukkan bahawa Barisan Nasional sebagai parti pemerintah tewas di Kedah dan masih lagi gagal menawan Kelantan yang mempunyai komuniti Siam paling ramai di Malaysia. Namun begitu, Kedah jatuh semula ke tangan BN pada PRU13, sementara Kelantan masih kekal berada di bawah penguasaan Pakatan Rakyat (PR). Ini menunjukkan bahawa penglibatan mereka dalam pilihan raya begitu penting dalam membawa perubahan politik. Oleh itu, beberapa persoalan perlu dirungkai terutama berkaitan penglibatan belia komuniti Siam dalam politik. Apakah belia komuniti Siam menyertai parti politik? Apakah jawatan yang mereka sandang? Apakah mereka terlibat dalam program-program politik? Apa yang pasti, penglibatan mereka dalam politik secara langsung bakal memberi impak yang besar dalam perkembangan politik khusus dalam pilihan raya umum.

Katakunci: belia, komuniti minoriti, penglibatan, pilihan raya, politik, Siam

Minority political communities may indeed exert a crucial influence on both political landscapes and political outcomes. The present article discusses political involvement of minority Siamese youth in Peninsular Malaysia. The political discourse in Malaysia still continues to revolve exclusively within the ambits of the majority political community whereas political discussion of the minority community almost seems to be sidelined. In reality, the minority community also contributes to the political development of the nation. Following the 12th General Election (GE 12), the minority youths especially from amongst the Siamese community, are viewed as an important group in determining the political landscape, particularly during the 13th General Elections (GE 13). This is especially true in those states where there is a strong presence of the Siamese community, such as Kedah, Kelantan and Perlis. As 1Makalah ini telah dibentangkan Seminar Hasil Penyelidikan Institut Pengajian Sains Sosial (IPSAS) Universiti Putra Malaysia pada 15 Disember 2012. observed, in the 12th General Elections, the ruling Barisan Nasional had lost in Kedah and failed to regain Kelantan which has the highest population of Siamese community in Malaysia. However, Kedah recapitulated into the hands of BN in the GE 13, while Kelantan continued to remain under the control of the Pakatan Rakyat (PR). This might demonstrate that the community's involvement in the elections was pivotal in bringing about political change. As such, a number of questions need to be examined, namely: Do youth from the Siamese community join political parties? What posts do they hold? Are they involved in political programs? What is certain is that their direct involvement in politics has the potential of impacting on political development, particularly on general elections.

Keywords: elections, involvement, minority community, politics, Siamese, youth