COMMENT | When the GE15 results and Perikatan Nasional (PN)’s electoral gains came in, there was a groundswell of focus on younger voters. They were blamed/credited for the seismic shifts in Malaysian politics, particularly a touted ‘green wave’.

Youths were tagged with all sorts of labels, from lacking political literacy to greater conservatism. Some went as far as to blame Undi18 for the results, criticising broader enfranchisement of supposed ‘immature’ voters.

This second article in the ‘Looking beyond ethnicity’ series focuses on generation voting. From how different age cohorts voted to which came out to vote, the findings challenge the mainstream view that young people don’t care about politics and are less committed to building a stronger future for Malaysia.

The analysis yields estimates in voting draws (again) from the careful study of national polling station results and the age data by saluran from the electoral roll (rather than the less accurate methodology of looking just at the saluran results).

The findings show that PN’s gains among youth in GE15 are overstated and that Pakatan Harapan maintains considerable support among youth, especially among Undi18 voters. Youth are actively embracing new political alternatives, with a desire for change and better governance...