It all started with one voice. Just days after the 14th General Election on 9 May, a seven-year-old boy from Selangor – Avinash – wrote a letter to his new Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. His message was simple: “Make Malaysia a safe and peaceful country.” That letter kicked off a powerful campaign – #LetterToMyPM – where children and young people from across Malaysia came forward to speak their hearts and share their dreams.
Who is Tok Det?
Tun, or Tok Det as he likes to be called by children, had just made history. He returned as Malaysia’s Prime Minister for a second time, after already serving 22 years as the fourth PM from 1981–2003. And he did this at the age of 92!
More letters, more voices
From that first letter, hundreds more followed. Young people from all walks of life – different races, states and backgrounds. Some were children with disabilities. Some were refugees. Others were undocumented. But all of them had one thing in common.
They wanted to be heard. And they had a lot to say.
Read the compilation of letters in the UNICEF book titled #lettertomyPM
What did they write about?
Some of you were really worried about school. You wanted a better education system and the chance to learn.
Others talked about unity, peace, leadership and saving the environment.
No matter the topic, all of you shared the same hope – a better Malaysia.
More than just birthday wishes
These letters weren’t just birthday wishes to Tok Det. They were powerful messages full of belief, courage and ideas. They showed that young people do care. And you’re not just the future – you’re already changemakers today.
That’s why we at UNICEF had to take action. We compiled some of these amazing letters into a special book called #LetterToMyPM. We shared the book with Tok Det for his birthday – and we hope all our leaders take time to read it too.
Your voices matter. And your ideas can help build the Malaysia you deserve.
To every young writer out there – bravo! Keep writing. Keep dreaming. Keep speaking up. Just remember – always do it with respect, OK?
Let’s keep the conversation going
#LetterToMyPM was a UNICEF campaign to help young people speak directly to their leaders.
The campaign may be over, but your voice still matters.
Want to write your own letter? Post it on Instagram. Tag @unicefmalaysia and use the hashtags #LetterToMyPM and #Children4Change.
Let’s keep dreaming, speaking up, and building the Malaysia we all want.
