Umno youth wings will need to step up its game if they plan to win over fence-sitters who will play a crucial role in deciding the outcome of the upcoming general election.

University Malaya Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences senior lecturer Dr. Rosmadi Fauzi said a research conducted by University Malaya Centre for Democracy and Elections (UMCEDEL) revealed that first-time voters were still indecisive and they are more likely to be influenced by their friends.

“There are currently 6 million young voters in Malaysia and there are 3.8 million people who are eligible but have yet to register themselves as voters,” he said.

“The issues faced by the younger generation are also different. For example, those aged between 21 to 25 are interested in PTPTN (National Higher Education Fund) issues, those aged 26 to 30 are interested in the economy while those aged 30 to 40 are interested in housing issues.

Rosmadi also urged Pemuda and Puteri Umno to identify and understand the young voters through their demographics in order to address their problems and win their hearts.

He said such discussion can be conducted by engaging with the younger generation via new media platforms.

“Our study reveal that the younger generation no longer watch television. As such, the party (Umno) should embrace new media to disseminate information to the young voters who are practitioners of new and social media. “

"Questions posed by them should also be addressed quickly. They would then be able to make an objective conclusion based on the information gathered."

However, he said politicians would still have to meet youths living in rural areas that are without internet connection to find out their problems.

He also said it was not necessary to field a young candidate in an area where there are a lot of young voters for the upcoming election.

“It would be a problem if a young candidate is inexperienced and does not have a good relationship with the voters. What is more important is for the candidate to address the needs of these young voters."

Dr Rosmadi was a guest on a special episode of Agenda Awani on Tuesday in conjunction with the Umno general assembly. The programme was hosted by Suhaimi Sulaiman and Nazri Kahar.