What do youths think about their new voting rights?

SPECIAL REPORT | In July 2019, Parliament passed a constitutional amendment to lower the voting age and minimum age for elected representatives to 18, and to implement automatic voter registration.

This means thousands and millions of new young voters are expected to participate in the next general election, marking a development which will undoubtedly change Malaysia’s political landscape.

As such, political parties are gearing up to target a fresh voter segment. The opposition believes the constitutional amendment will enable it to tap into dissatisfaction of youths with the ruling party.

Meanwhile, the ruling coalition has said that although the amendment may not favour the Pakatan Harapan regime, it is in the best interests of the country.

Nevertheless, do political parties truly understand the expectations and anxieties of Malaysian youths? Are their policies and agenda addressing the needs of the youths?

Malaysiakini interviewed 29 students aged between 14 and 18 to understand their opinions on a number of issues, including voting and political participation rights for youths, how they approach information concerning politics, and social issues that interest them and which they want to see a change in.

The students came from national schools (SMK), national-type schools (SMJK), Chinese independent schools, religious schools and international schools. Some were working temporarily while others were studying in pre-university courses.

Youths: Not a monolithic group

More than half of the interviewees felt excited about voting in the next general election. Nura Hanesa Haslimi, 16, is one such example.

She believes that lowering the voting age is a fairer electoral policy for the youth, as “older people can get to vote even if they do not receive any political education like us. It is unfair that we have to wait so long”.

“And what if the government becomes corrupt while we are waiting to vote?”

Nura has lived in countries such as Indonesia, England and Scotland due to her parents’ careers. She is now a Form 4 student in a government school in Kuala Lumpur.

As a member of her school’s debate club, she often discusses different topics in depth. Her grandparents discuss politics with her, occasionally. During GE14, she followed several political parties and figures on Twitter closely.

Based on her observations, members of the younger generation dare to share their opinions on social media, with some posts even going viral. However, Nura explained this was a means for youths to vent themselves as “they can’t really do anything about it”.

If the constitutional amendment had not been proposed and approved, she said, today’s youths would have had to wait for another one or two terms before being able to vote.

On the other hand, Aadithya Naidu Montana Krishnan, who graduated from an international school in June, believes that the lowering of voting and election candidacy ages will force politicians to listen to the youths’ demands.

“I think the biggest impact of Undi18 on Malaysian politics is the new target voters demographic that you need to address.”

Except for a few leaders such as Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman and Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin, Aadithya noticed that “ a lot of Malaysian politicians are in the 45 or 50-year-old category. They don’t really consider youth issues as the main thing”.

Katelyn Felicia Pereira opines that the youth should not be seen as a monolithic community sharing the same aspirations and desires.

The international school graduate stressed that youths aged 18 and 21 represent different communities.

Unlike 21-year-olds who are pursuing higher education or working, Katelyn described 18-year-olds as “representatives” who would speak on the children’s behalf. For her, the two age groups live in completely different environments.

Besides that, she expressed concern that most of the people in power were much older than youths, and therefore may not prioritise the latter group when making decisions.

However, Katelyn said, “There are not enough young people at the decision-making level to make a change... It is very difficult to share our ideas with the older generation when they are unwilling to hear the voices of the youths.”

Until now, the Election Commission (EC) has not provided statistics on the number of youth voters in the country. According to the Statistics Department, there are about two million youths aged between 18 and 21 in Malaysia, while there are about half a million people who turn 18 every year.

If the 15th general election is held in 2023, EC chairperson Azhar Azizan Harun predicts that there will be around 3.8 million new voters who are aged 18 or older. Factoring in over four million Malaysians who have not registered as voters in the past, there would be 7.8 million new voters joining the next election, which is about 34 percent of the total number of voters.

In other words, about three out of every 10 voters will be new voters.

Nevertheless, some young people are uncertain about their new voting rights, doubting whether they are prepared enough to vote. Among the 29 youths interviewed by Malaysiakini, 10 of them shared this perspective.

Natasha Presenna Nambiar feels that 18-year-olds are not mature enough to vote. Moreover, the Form Six student from a national high school in Cheras was afraid of making the wrong choice.

“I’m scared I will pick the wrong leader, (and) bad things (will) happen. They will show they look good in the first place, (but) when they become the leaders, I’m afraid they will become liars,” she said.

Some Undi18 proponents have argued that since 18-year-olds are entitled to marry, drive and work, they should thus be given voting and election candidacy rights too.

But Muhammad Syufaiq Silmi disagrees, saying that marriage rights only apply to a few individuals, while voting is a collective responsibility involving public interests.

“I do believe that people should have the right to vote, but with rational thinking. Voting is the collective responsibility of everyone. So if you are not ready, you should not vote.”

Voter education essential

Thus, the student studying in a pre-university programme at a private college thinks that the government should first cultivate the youth through education, “so that we turn out mature citizens at 18, exposed to the real world, not shielded by our parents... then we are ready to vote”.

Most of the interviewees also considered education an essential step in implementing Undi18.

Last June, the Education Ministry implemented Civics Education in schools. It also teamed up with the EC to educate students on the electoral process.

Meanwhile, the Election Academy (APR), which is under the EC, has been visiting public universities to create awareness regarding democracy and the electoral process since 2017.

Previously, secondary school students were required to take Civics and Citizenship Education.

However, when the government implemented a new high school syllabus in 2017, Civics Education was no longer on the list of subjects to be taught.

Nura described Civics Education as a ‘useless’ subject in high school. “I don’t know why old people would think if you just tell (students) a bunch of moral values, students will just follow the stuff. You learnt that stuff when you are young.”

Among the interviewees, Syufaiq was the only one who acknowledged the merits of the subject he took in national school. Through Civics Education, he said, he gained an understanding of how the government works, although he complained that the teacher was biased.

“My teacher who taught me civics was a supporter of the former government. So everything she said was in a positive light for the former government. You can see she was showing bias to one part of the political system.”

Later, when he was studying in a local university college, Syufaiq and his coursemates were assigned to compare political systems in different countries by their English lecturer. According to him, this assignment helped him learn to think critically and independently.

Besides government schools, some Chinese independent schools also provide civics education or social science studies to develop civic consciousness and a sense of responsibility among the young.

Aden Tan Shen Yeh is a science-stream student studying in a Chinese independent school located in Klang. His school has been teaching social science as a subject since the 1980s and it is now a compulsory subject for all senior high school students.

They often discuss issues of public interest in the class, such as same-sex marriage, abolishing the mandatory death penalty and euthanasia. Tan thus began following current issues closely and developing his own understanding of politics and society.

Yet, he is still doubtful about the new voting rights he will hold. “To be honest, even at the age of 17, I have read a lot of this stuff, but there is still a lot of ambiguity,” he said.

He believes that a mature voter should be able to comprehend a basic concept of democracy, the history of the country and other matters in order to elect a qualified candidate.

“We have to understand the concept of democratic politics and the mechanism behind it.

“And then, we compare these parties with their objectives, and identify which party can solve the problems more effectively.”

Beyond school education

Other than schools, family influence also plays a role in raising awareness and interest in politics.

Natasha confessed that her political apathy was due to the negative atmosphere when her family discussed politics.

“I don't feel comfortable when I listen to my parents comment on politics. They are always angry, and I don't like that environment.

“At least the politicians tried their best to do their jobs. You don't have to be so 'kasar' (rude),” she said.

Indeed, political apathy is common not only among the youth but also among adults.

When the interviewees were asked to list down their first impressions of politics, nearly half of the responses had negative connotations and included terms such as scheming, sodomy case, corruption, “Malu Apa Bossku”, injustice, dirty, messy and complicated.

Furthermore, more than half of the interviewees said that have friends who do not know who is the deputy prime minister, let alone current affairs.

In a class of 25 students, Pravhilan Gunasekaran, a 17-year-old Form 5 student in a government school, is the only one who is interested in politics. Luckily, he has some schoolmates from different races who share the same interest.

Pravhilan, who is also the head prefect in his school as well as a police cadet, said he shared his opinions on various issues, including the recent Jawi khat controversy, with his friends, even if they are Malay.

“It isn't about racism. We just share our opinions," he said.

Aadithya attributed this phenomenon to a lack of understanding of politics.

“I think the biggest thing is that not everyone realises when they say they 'hate politics', it is that they have politics within their group of friends.

“When you talk about another person in your circle of friends, that is still politics, maybe even dirty politics,” he said.

Aadithya stressed that politics is everywhere, stating that: “The only difference is the type of 'politics' that is normally spoken about has an impact on everyone else.”

While most families refuse to talk about politics with their children, Syufaiq jokes that he comes from an “abnormal family”.

Since young, his father, who is a diplomat, has exposed him to various public issues the country had confronted.

“For me, I read and watch all types of media from The Star, Malaysiakini, to Utusan Malaysia. When they all report on the same topic, I can see which one has a bias,” he said, adding that the parents of most of his classmates believe in the BN parties.

Syufaiq said many parents try to shield their children from politics and real-world issues.

“Furthermore, these parents will support one party, even though the party may be wrong (on issues). They will say the party is right, continue to blindly give their support and pick and choose their media to read or watch (to match their views),” he said.

Syufaiq said he would feel bad after disagreeing and criticising the views of his friends and their parents.

In the end, however, everyone is still friends.

“I accept them as who they are despite their views, and they accept me for who I am.”

Pravhilan’s interest in politics was also influenced by his family, especially his aunt who is a political journalist, and he plans on following her footsteps.

Last year, he followed his aunt to a GE14 rally to experience the live atmosphere and also stayed up until 4am to catch the election results.

“I can be a bit adventurous. I went to see for myself what was happening during the Subang temple riots. My dad also prompted me to attend several election campaign rallies.

Interestingly, political interest within Pravhilan's family did not flow from the parents to the children. His mother cast her vote for the first time during GE14 after constant persuasion and prodding from him.

Katelyn’s parents support different political parties and they seldom talk about politics at home.

However, her father is a member of a political party and is actively involved in helping vulnerable communities such as low-income groups, abused women and underprivileged children who can't afford school.

Influenced by her father, Katelyn became interested in a range of issues, including animal rights, the LGBT community, women’s rights and environmental issues.

Muhammad Akif Najmi, who came to the interview with Pravhilan, shared that he made up his mind to become a politician only a few months ago. Before that, his ambition was to become a soldier, but a visit to Parliament changed his mind.

Coincidentally, he and a group of students witnessed the Members of Parliament debate the Undi18 bill during the visit.

“When the MPs were debating on the amendment, they asked for PAS' opinion. I love this type of situation where MPs seek different views and opinions.

“There were so many opinions given during the Undi18 debate. I couldn't imagine all of it, and there was so much information that day,” he said.

Since the visit to Parliament, Akif, who is also the head prefect in his school, started reading various news sites, including foreign agencies such as BBC and CNN, to learn about how politics operates in Malaysia and other countries.

Similarly to Aadthiya, he developed a strong interest in domestic and foreign politics after he started joining Model United Nations (MUN) conferences when he was 14.

MUN is an educational simulation and academic activity where students learn about diplomacy, international relations and the United Nations.

The conferences are usually organised by the MUN club of a school or college where students roleplay as UN delegates. Participants in MUN conferences learn about speaking, debating, critical thinking, leadership, teamwork and many other skills.

“For example, if the topics are on Syria and Yemen and I'm representing the US in the 'Security Council', my objective in the 'UN' will be to obtain decisions beneficial to Saudi Arabia because we (the US and Saudi Arabia) are allies.

“By taking part in this simulation, I begin to understand how politics works. And not only local politics but international politics as well,” Akif said.

Youth issues should not be ignored

Equality and education are probably two words that can best describe the demands to the government from these young interviewees.

Aadithya is now working as an intern in the office of Klang MP Charles Santiago. He pointed out the politicians must take youth issues seriously.

Aadithya said only a few politicians were willing to look at issues such as starting salary and the minimum wage for the youth.

“You can’t end discussions and just say that people are lazy and not willing to work. There are so few opportunities for the youth to make a decent living in this country,” he said.

The recent minimum wage set by the Harapan government is RM1,100, which is lower than RM1,500 promised in its GE14 manifesto.

Additionally, Bank Negara data shows that the salary of fresh graduates has stagnated since 2007, with more than half receiving less than RM2,000 per month in 2015.

Aadithya also stressed that politicians should engage the youth in politics and nation-building, and ensure policies benefit the youth.

Meanwhile, Syufaiq is more concerned about Malay special rights, LGBT and social communities.

Although many of his friends believe in racial privileges and politics, Syufaiq has an opposing view.

“I think Malay special rights are destroying the Malay community. I know that economically, Malays were left behind during independence. But now, what is holding us back is ourselves.

“To me, we are living as three races in this country. At a certain point, you have to share. You cannot allow a single race to become the country's only major power,” he said.

As a Malay, Syufaiq hopes for racial equality. However, as a Muslim, he does not support the LGBT community.

“Because our country is an Islamic country and predominantly Muslim, I think they (the LGBT community) should be more subtle and our government is very tolerant.

“I see a lot of LGBT on the streets. It’s not like we go to them and say that you are wrong and condemn them in public... we can live with them peacefully,” he said.

On the contrary, Nabihah Adnin Abdullah, who is studying in a religious school in Kajang, proactively mentioned that she is concerned about the rights of the LGBT community.

As a Muslim, she said could not advocate the LGBT lifestyle. From a human perspective, however, she felt that people should acknowledge their presence and accept them.

“It’s not saying that we’re involved, but we have to understand them. They are Malaysians too right? We need to acknowledge their existence,” she said.

Most of the interviewees also raised the concerns of non-bumiputra youth on the quota system and the recognition of the UEC, since these issues limit access to higher education.

Interviewees from government schools also criticised the quality of education.

The recent history syllabus and the Jawi khat controversies have also annoyed students such as Tan, who hopes that these issues could be resolved academically and not politically.

“Politicians have been arguing on these issues, and it is getting worse. I hope they will resolve these matters and respect educational and historical truths.

“They should not take sides and look at the matter objectively so that society will not be so divided in moving forward,” he said.

Tan emphasised that by now, it was clear that all races are contributing to the country's growth and development.

“We should treat each other equally and no longer use the concept of bumiputra and non-bumiputra to differentiate one another.

“I also hope our elected leaders will not be selfish and only pursue their personal agenda. I wish for them to take a firm stand to resolve these issues on education,” he said.

Unlike many, Tan is not in favour of lowering the voting age to 18. However, since the constitutional amendment was passed, he said that he will vote as he is Malaysian and has been given the right.

Asked to elaborate on his reluctance to vote, he shared his inner struggle on the matter.

“Honestly, I have a strong feeling that I don’t want to vote. From what we can see now, these (political) parties are racing one another to the bottom.

“They are merely comparing with each other to see which one is worse,” he said, adding that he will vote to try and minimise the negative impact on Malaysia.

Tan raised the issue of whether political parties or politics should be allowed into schools following the passing of the bill.

“They said politics is not allowed in schools. If this is the case, there will be limited opportunities to discuss politics. Without discussions, we don’t look at issues deeply, and all we see is the surface,” he said.

Another important issue is how to balance the relationship between political parties, politics and schools.

Many interviewees pointed out that in schools, politics and current affairs are rarely discussed. This might be due to the limitation of the syllabus and the current tense atmosphere within the education system.

When arranging the students' interviews, many schools refused the interview request or said an official letter from the Education Ministry granting permission was required. Moreover, some schools even requested, after the interviews, that their names not to be stated.

Following the passing of Undi18, we must also look at providing a safe and free environment for young voters to discuss politics critically, whether at home, in the classrooms or on social media.

This is especially important as trial by public opinion and online bullying becomes more rampant.