Attending ceramahs will help voters understand political parties and candidates better. Photo: Filepic
Aneesa Nizam, 20, might be in Wales, Britain, but she's on the ball about the upcoming 15th General Election (GE).
From Kuala Lumpur, Aneesa is among thousands of Malaysians registered as postal voters. The first-time voter is excited about exercising her right to vote even though it's via a postal ballot.
She also encourages youths to attend as many political talks as possible before polling day. This will help voters to be better informed about the policies that the party stands for, said the final-year law student at Cardiff University.
Aneesa says social media is a good platform for first-time voters to know more about the political situation in Malaysia. Photos: Aneesa Nizam"That is one of the other ways a voter can know more about the candidate and look at what (he or she) offers. Voters can also engage more with the person who will run for office because members of parliament should be held accountable by the citizens," said Aneesa via email.
Aneesa, who has been living in Wales for two months, had the opportunity to attend a few political campaigns during the Johor state election last March.
"During the Johor elections in March, I volunteered to help in a political party's campaign trail. As a result, I had hands-on experience helping the candidates campaign in their constituencies.
"It was a memorable experience, especially the campaigning period and keeping track of the election results. I do miss being in Malaysia during GE15," said Aneesa, who plans to watch the election results with her Malaysian varsity mates on Nov 19.
Kuala Lumpur-based student Isra Daniel Gomez, 19, also believes in the benefits of attending ceramahs. The first-time voter thinks Malaysians must go for such events because it helps them understand the candidates better.
Gomez hopes GE15 will pave the way for more progress in our country. Photo: Isra Daniel Gomez
"It's one thing to listen to their speeches on screen, but it's very different when you are there face to face. For me, everytime I attend talks, there's this small feeling of excitement from the fact that I'm hearing and seeing politicians talk," said Gomez, who is studying Foundation in Law at a private college in Petaling Jaya.
Over 21.1 million Malaysians will be eligible to vote in GE15. This is an increase of more than six million voters compared to GE14 in 2018 when there were 14.9 million registered voters.
According to the Election Commission, nearly 1.4 million registered voters in GE15 are aged between 18 and 20. The rise in eligible voters is due to the Undi18 constitutional amendment gazetted last year, which lowered the minimum voting age from 21 to 18.
Even though Aneesa's thousands of miles away from home, she is doing her bit to ensure Malaysian students in Wales can cast their votes via postal voting.
She is part of the United Kingdom and Eire (Ireland) Council for Malaysian Students (UKEC), a partner of VoteMalaysia – a coalition of youth organisations around the world that is carrying out a global collection drive for overseas postal voters for GE15.
"We have been coordinating the logistics for the ballots to be sent back to Malaysia. I am also assisting with postal registration and primarily educating students on the importance of voting," said Aneesa.
Meanwhile, she continues to keep herself posted on the latest developments.
Aneesa (left) and her varsity mates are doing their bit to ensure Malaysian students in Wales can cast their votes via postal voting.
"Loved ones from Malaysia have been sending me GE15 updates and videos on candidates' campaign trails. The Internet is also very informative, especially for conducting background checks on the candidates in my constituency, which is Titiwangsa," said Aneesa.
"I also think social media is a good platform for first-time voters to know more about the political situation in our country. "However, we should go beyond the realm of social media and look at each party's manifesto. It is important to understand how the party creates their policies based on the interests of the people," said Aneesa.
As GE15 draws near, Gomez – who is the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) student bureau head for Segambut, Kuala Lumpur – has also been involved in getting more youths to the polls.
"One way we are doing this is through a series called literasiswa. We educate youths in the basic fundamentals of our democratic system. We explain to them the duties of a member of parliament (MP) and a state assemblyman. During the campaign period, we do more things to get youths invested in this election," said Gomez, who has been attending several ceramahs with his friends in the last few days leading up to GE15.
The elder of two siblings, Gomez will be voting in the Segambut parliamentary constituency and hopes GE15 will pave the way for more progress in our country. One of his wish is for Malaysians to have freedom of speech.
"This election is very important. In 2020, the people's mandate was taken by certain individuals. Now, voters have the power to change that. We have the ability to choose the right leaders who will put the country first rather than their pockets.
"I hope the winning party will also take the necessary steps to abolish Akta Universiti dan Kolej Universiti. As long as it exists, it will always create fear among students to join politics," said Gomez, who is also the content director for Benar Betul, a youth-led initiative on media literacy.
