PETALING JAYA, Feb 16 — Youths are discouraged to join political parties because of the warlord culture that persists in the local political scene, says Malaysian Council of Former Elected Representatives (Mubarak).

Its president Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Rahman said the "warlord” culture that been there since the establishment of the New Economic policy (NEP) in the 70s has pushed away  youth representatives that could play a part in winning electoral seats, especially those who won with a slim majority with no more than 3,000 votes.

"The warlord culture is in all political parties, including Umno, and it is growing stronger by the day in accordance with the economic growth (of our country),” Berita Harian quoted him saying.

Citing examples of youth leaders in France and New Zealand, Aziz said these are some of the successes Malaysia needs to emulate.

"We must acknowledge that the current needs have changed and if we want our party to win, a new image must be presented. If we love our party than we need to support candidates that have been chosen and not remain isolated,” he said.

He added that party veterans should self-reflect and even stand back to allow new faces in politics, keeping in line with current demands.

Aziz claimed that before the NEP was established, the Malays especially those involved in politics did not crave positions within political parties or even seek to become electoral candidates.