Watch: ‘I Don’t Want To Be A Bystander’ – Momentum’s Youngest Leader On Why She Took The Plunge
At 25 years old, Sumaya Ben Saad is the youngest person in the leadership team of Momentum, a new political party led by Arnold Cassola.
Speaking to Lovin Malta’s Tim Diacono, Sumaya said that while she is aware of the potential negative repercussions of putting herself in the public eye, she felt she couldn’t remain a bystander.
“I am aware that youths these days have lost heart in politics and activism because we cannot see opportunities for change and there is a lot of frustration out there,” she said.
“However, I don’t like sitting back and watching reality unfold as my birth country, Malta, faces so many problems.”
“I’m aware of the reality, especially in the media, in terms of the repercussions and judgements by people on the fallibility of human nature, and this scared me for many years. Even my family had these fears when they warned me not to get involved in this change.”
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“However, I also believe that when you’re in the public eye, people will judge you no matter what you do.”
“We recently saw the case of Stephanie Buttigieg, an astronomy doctorate student who made a small mistake during an interview about her extensive research, and I found the criticism ridiculous.”
“Unfortunately, there are many keyboard warriors who are ready to pass judgement on regular, ambitious people, but I don’t believe this should stop me and people like me.”
“I believe that Malta is in such a serious situation that we need an instant change. We needed one yesterday, let alone today, so there is no better time than the present to get involved.”
“I never intended to get involved in politics but I want to be part of a change and encourage people like me, youths and people who love Malta, to take this step and work to make Malta better, fairer and more transparent.”
Asked why she chose to join Momentum rather than PL or PN, seeing as the large parties have established structures and supporter bases, Sumaya said third parties are crucial to provide checks and balances.
“I used to trust these parties, but the reality of a duopoly means there aren’t checks and balances, which is important for equality in Maltese governance,” she said.
“We are all human at the end of the day and we cannot stop mistakes, but a third party can help bring about hope for change, to correct these parties when they make mistakes and welcome their positive policies.”
“I decided to join Momentum because I am inspired by the honesty and transparency of Prof Cassola. When I joined their Vision Circles, they approached me in a very open manner and I am excited to attract new people to this party so they can be part of this change.”
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