YOURSAY | ‘The absence of free speech and our failed education system have produced apathetic youths.’

Opposition fails to capitalise on discontent among the youth

Kim Quek: Despite being highly dissatisfied with the BN government, a recent Merdeka Center poll shows that the youth in the country are also dispirited with the political system as a whole - perhaps pointing to the failure of the opposition to present a formidable alternative to capture their imagination.

The poll results on Malaysian youths show that 40 percent of eligible voters are not registered as voters, and 70 percent are not interested in or can’t understand politics. These two phenomena are inter-related, the shocking former phenomenon being caused by the latter.

Such an appallingly unhealthy development among our youth can be attributed to the absence of free and independent media to encourage and disseminate vibrant news and views, and the failure of our education system to develop critical thinking and imbue noble values.

Such failures are in turn a reflection of the rule of a long-entrenched incompetent and decadent political leadership.

Incompetent government results in dull people, who in turn return incompetent leadership – this is a vicious cycle that can only be broken by a decisive change of political leadership to one that is competent.

Quigonbond: I sympathise with debating champion Jasmine Ho, who said she was talked down by adults. If any member of the opposition is doing so, they should change their tact. But at the same time, I urge the youth to self-reflect.

If one has a basic sense of justice and rudimentary working knowledge of human behaviour, one can easily see how laws, investigations and prosecutions have been stacked against the opposition by self-serving ruling elites.

In this oppressive environment, don't expect to hear opposition policies from the government-controlled mainstream media.

The opposition has alternative budgets, they have talked extensively about economic, social, education, institutional reforms and they are mindful of bread-and-butter issues.

The opposition does not have deep pockets. Their outreach is far from perfect. So if the youth care enough about the country, they owe it to themselves to seek out the information. It's really just a google away.

Anonymous 759201436321741: Jasmine Ho, you are only young once. Twenty years from today you may live to regret what you could have done to make a difference for yourself and especially for your children.

Try not to live a life of regret. Take the right action to make a difference.

You should try to answer these questions. Are 60 years of the same (under BN) not enough? And what about your children? It is not what Pakatan Harapan can do for you but what you can do for Harapan to enable them to make a better tomorrow for your children.

Korkor: In a democracy, if you are dissatisfied with a party or group, you have the right to vote for change.

The opposition had shown their ability to govern in Selangor and Penang. So if you don't give a chance to the opposition, you are sentencing them to the doldrums by continuing to support the government even though you are dissatisfied with them. Isn't this an irony?

Give the opposition a chance to rule and if they don't perform, throw them out in the next GE. It’s simple logic.

Slumdog: It appears quite clear that the 1MDB financial fiasco and Malaysian Official 1’s involvement has had no traction whatsoever with the youth of the country.

It is greatly disappointing to think that these young adults are the future of the country when they show no interest, no knowledge or no care for the alleged theft of public funds, in the billions.

Also worryingly, corruption is a concern of only a third of the youth surveyed.

P Dev Anand Pillai: If the opposition has failed miserably, then why do the youth of Malaysia not stand for election and participate themselves? All it takes is to satisfy the requirements.

So if the political parties have failed, join the fray and offer the solutions to the population - who knows, the people may vote for you.

But before doing that, go on a survey and find out why so many who are aged 45 and below have yet to even register themselves as voters.

We are too pre-programmed in our thinking, it is all due to the education that we get; we never question authority.

Iiiizzzziiii: Perhaps it is high time for this issue to be addressed by introducing policies that are suited for the younger generation, which should be more performance-based and with lots of incentive thrown in. Also, do away with affirmative policies and special privileges.

By the way, please get away from the religion-centric approach if you want to draw in the youth. The last thing they want is a big brother watching over them and most of them abhor their freedom being curbed by religious authority.

The approach of "do what I ask of you but do not do what I do" reeks of double standard.

Despite what authoritarians think, youths are more inclined to perceive the world as fair and transparent where there is equality and justice for all until they grow up in this reality.

Hank Marvin: While the panellists and the writer of this report may have a point, they must also realise that the job of making the country a better place falls on everybody's shoulder.

On top of that, there are many factors that are simply beyond the opposition's control and we have a regime that would do anything to remain in power, even to the extent of destroying the fabric of the nation.

HaveAGreatDay: The headline of this news report perhaps goes to the heart of what ails the opposition in our country. If the opposition cannot capitalise on the discontent of our youths with the government of the day, it deserves to lose GE14.

Cogito Ergo Sum: The opposition has yet to come up with a clear blueprint of what it intends to do if it wins. Saying that it will tackle bread-and-butter issues without details is simple. It must tell the people what the brass tacks of its economic and political programmes are about.

Giving broad strokes is no longer acceptable as the population is more educated. Nail it down and get cracking on the details or forever lose the chance of winning.

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