KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional needs to work hard to engage young Malaysians as 7.8 million new voters have been added to the electoral roll for the coming general election, says Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
The Prime Minister said far-reaching engagements with this key demographic were a must if Barisan wanted to win, as it was a "numbers game".
"There will be a huge increase in voters in GE15, from 14.9 million in GE14 to a minimum of 22.7 million in GE15.
"Out of this, it is estimated that around four million are aged 21 and below.
"How far is our engagement with them and how many have we met? From Form 6 students to university students.
"It's a numbers game. How many we approach and meet with, that's what will secure our victory," Ismail Sabri said in his speech at Stadium Titiwangsa here on Saturday (Sept 17) during the launch of the Barisan Nasional Youth machinery.
The voting age was lowered to 18 from 21 in December last year along with the enabling of automatic registration for those who qualify.
The effect of the new law meant that there could be millions of new voters in the coming election.
Ismail Sabri added that the numerous youth-centred incentives recently introduced by the government such as PerantiSiswa, Menu Siswa Keluarga Malaysia and National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) exemptions for first-class graduates could be used as pull factors for these young voters.
He added that GE15 would be a different ballgame, with it being a virtual war as opposed to a physical war such as in the previous elections.
He called for Barisan Youth to master and win the virtual war by providing answers to the missives delivered by the Opposition via social media day in and day out.
"Our weakness before GE14 was that we couldn't answer big questions from the Opposition.
"Now they are braver and slander our leaders. If we fail to answer as we did in the last GE14, we will pay dearly," he said.
