Do not for one moment believe that politicians want to “nation build”, or “be of service”, or any of those other buzzwords that politicians and political operatives use to gaslight the public.
The job of a politician is to get power and hold on to it for as long as possible.
When you have to depend on votes, you have to do and say the dumbest things to retain those votes. And believe me, after a while, politicians begin to despise the hoi polloi whom they need to retain power. There are exceptions, of course. A political party like PSM or, over the years, various independent candidates, have demonstrated that they want to serve, they want to reform the system, and they lost because, unlike the average political hack, they tell people what they need to hear and not what they want to hear.
And yes, old politicians have experience. Stay in various positions long enough, you understand how to game the system. You begin to understand the connective tissue between the various ruling classes of the country and how they depend on the bureaucracy to sustain their pecuniary agendas. You understand that it is not about serving the rakyat but rather various special interests. You bring your family into the business of politics, and this creates various ecosystems of nepotism and political manoeuvrings which last for decades.
This is not about age. This is not about limiting old people. This is about...