Youths want fresh, scandal-free candidates to contest in GE15

KUALA LUMPUR: Now is probably the right time for the nation’s youth to shine, especially after 18-year-olds were allowed to vote for the first time in the Johor state election, says a young Malaysian.

Fresh graduate Purvin Ravichandran, 24, from Tanjung Malim, Perak, said more emphasis on young people in politics should be given, so that they could offer something new to the current generation.

“I also urge all political parties to form a new political generation with less politicking and be more about the people.

“It should be people for the people, helping the people.

“Another thing is that the old-school generation has not changed, so I hope they get in tune with time,” he said.

Purvin is among the many young Malaysians wanting young new faces who are free from any scandals and have integrity running as candidates for the 15th General Election (GE15).

He was among the thousands of Barisan Nasional Youth who attended the launch of the Barisan Youth election machinery at Stadium Titiwangsa here on Saturday.

Universiti Malaysia Pahang student Zharfan Shamsul, 19, is hoping for candidates with merit.

“I want clean candidates free from corruption. He or she must carry out the job with integrity and a sense of righteousness.

“More importantly, they should be a breath of fresh air. Their age is a secondary matter,” he said.

Others, like lawyer Ellena Razif, 31, also want to see new faces as it translates into actual and meaningful change.

“If they field new candidates, it means they are serious when they talk about change.

“We want educated and professional candidates, someone who has something meaningful to offer to the people and can help.

“I also want a doable manifesto with not too much politicking or people arguing about court cases,” she said.

Ellena added that she wanted a coalition that could provide practical solutions with policies that would definitely ease the burden of the people.

Another fresh graduate, Pall Singh, 25, from Sungai Buloh, Selangor, hopes that after GE15, there would be more opportunities for young people in the country.

“As a fresh graduate, I don’t see many job openings compared to those days.

“So I hope after GE15, there will be political stability.

“With stability, there will be more opportunities and economic recovery as well as higher Gross Domestic Product for the nation,” he said.

When asked about the voting trends among the youth, Pall said a lot of them were influenced by social media, and fact checks were not necessarily done.