T-2 days to GE15, are the youth ready to cast their vote?

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians are set to go to the polls on November 19, with over 21 million individuals eligible to cast their ballots nationwide after automatic voter registration.

The 15th General Election (GE15) also marks the first time those aged 18 to 20 are allowed to vote.

Many of these new voters, according to BERSIH Program Officer Lhavanya Dharmalingam, are hopeful to make a difference in the country.

This is despite feelings of apathy and anger towards the nation’s political instability in recent years.

“Although there is the popular rhetoric that youths are unaware and not interested in voting, I don’t think that’s true at all,” she said on It’s About YOUth.

Citing the Johor state elections in March, Lhavanya noted that 54 per cent of those aged 18 to 21 had shown up to vote among the average turnout of 55 per cent.

Speaking as a first-time voter himself, Abqari Annuar, Head of the Advocacy Unit at University of Malaya Students Union’, said he and his peers were excited to head out and cast their votes.

“But unfortunately, some of my friends are unable to go back and vote due to expensive flight tickets,” he said while expressing his wishes for the next elected government to address this either through flight subsidies or postal voting.

While it remains to be seen how Saturday’s turnout will be, the new generation of voters have been touted as the “kingmakers” of GE15.

Of the 21,173,638 eligible voters, 51 per cent of the electorate said to be below 40 years old.

“But (youth) candidate representation is only at 15 per cent, which is not very high at all,” said Lhavanya.

“I hope that the commitment to youth doesn’t just stop at the ballot box, that it continues after that in terms of encouraging freedom of speech and allowing youths to have spaces where they can debate without any censorship.”

For Abqari, GE15 was a missed opportunity for parties to engage in a “political reset'' for Malaysia.

“This was the best time for the older generation to make way for the younger generation. Some have done that and I applaud them for that, but some have decided they will contest as an independent or under another party, and that is very disappointing.”

What issues matter to the youth?

Amid the risk of a global recession and economic uncertainties, there is a lot at stake for young voters.

Abqari said the rising cost of living was a key concern among the youth, adding that some of his peers have had to skip meals to make ends meet.

Another issue was the efficiency of public transport especially within the Klang Valley. Abqari said he was one of many students who were affected by disruptions to the Kelana Jaya LRT line just last week.

“It’s sad that when we rely on public transport, it only disappoints us.”

There is also the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971, which he described as an “outdated law” that should be replaced with a new Higher Education Act.

Lhavanya said a lot of youths were also worried about long-term issues such as climate change and food security as they are the generation set to face the brunt of it.

“We don’t see the government taking active measures to address these long-term issues. We are still trying to deal with the bread-and-butter ones, but what about these big problems that are looming up on the horizon?”

Commenting on how GE15 manifestos have matched up to the youths’ concerns, Lhavanya pointed out that all coalitions have promised some form of institutional reform, with Pakatan Harapan (PH) having the most comprehensive list based on her observations.

“Barisan Nasional’s (BN) commitment to grant full autonomy to public higher education institutions sounds very exciting but I think the devil is in the details. I wonder how they’re going to implement that.”

She added that it was essential for political parties to adapt with the times and address what the youth’s needs as they are the group that will shape the future.

Abqari liked PH’s idea of a “Kad Belia” for youths aged 13 to 25 to obtain promotions and discounts at selected businesses.

He also noted that BN’s pledges to introduce a school system without textbooks and free higher education for the B40 group were good initiatives.

However, he remained wary and questioned if they were realistic goals.

“Unfortunately we’ve had the situation (where we were told that) manifestos bukan kitab suci (are not holy scriptures). You can promise the moon but are these promises realistic?”