Students hold a vast amount of potential in the world today. There are dozens of stories about the individual and group achievements of Malaysian Secondary School students. Yet—often—there are still many students who don't participate in group activities. This isn't due to an inability to work together, but the lack of a platform to organize in. This platform that’s needed are students' unions.

 The aim of a students’ union is to create a sense of solidarity amongst students while providing a medium for academic and social support alongside representation through democratic participation from its members. It is important to have unions as they give purpose and initiative to teens that are thought to just be lazy and unmotivated. Unions allow students to organize together to address whatever concerns they have. They also foster a sense of camaraderie that transcends race, culture, or creed. Students should be given opportunities to organize events, clubs, competitions, and movements: too many ideas are left stashed away and unheard by those unwilling to implement them.

 By instituting unions, students are allowed to improve their leadership and teamwork skills in a unique environment. This would not be like usual activities where students feel alienated, doing the same mundane tasks, but one where students know their actions improve the well-being of their fellow schoolmates. Students’ unions also take stress off teachers and enable them to focus more on teaching classes. Events such as Sports Day wouldn’t be handled merely by teachers, but would also be handled by the students of schools themselves. Modern technology and the internet have made it much easier for students to help each other outside of school. Platforms like Telegram or Discord allow students to set up organized channels (for free) where other students can be helped with various things ranging from subject-related questions to social and moral support.

 Students’ unions also encourage participation outside school; creating an environment where students can come together to campaign and advocate for issues important to them. Even the Philippines has student movements (such as the League of Filipino Students) that focus on pushing forward issues relevant to them through peaceful means. Finally, students' unions would amplify the voices of students so we can hold our leaders accountable for the actions they take.

As such, we ask that:

A) Students' Unions be implemented in all government secondary schools. These should have positions (such as Treasurers and Secretaries) that must be democratic and student-elected in order to encourage student participation. Students' Unions should also be allowed to take initiatives to organize activities and events for students.

B) Students' Unions must be allowed to engage in political, environmental and social activism, especially in regards to advocating for better educational conditions.

C) Students' Unions of an administrative district (ex: all schools within the Petaling district) should choose a student to represent their district and meet with other students bi-annually in order to discuss and vote on issues related to students. This allows not just for the students of one school to speak out, but for the whole student body of Malaysia to collectively work together.

 As students of Malaysia, we call on the Ministry of Education to institute students’ unions in all secondary schools. While there may not be much of an incentive to change things for those who are old and rich. There is a large demand for social and economic equity brewing among youths of today. It is a sentiment that is deeply concerned by the racism, sexism, and classism seen in Malaysian society, and it’s one that actively seeks to change it. It is a sentiment motivated by patriotism and a love for one's country. It is the belief that this country is not broken, but merely unfinished.