Linchpins: Analysts say political parties must seize the opportunity to attract this pool of voters into a vote bank. — RAJA FAISAL HISHAN/The Star
PETALING JAYA: More than 1.3 million Malaysians aged between 18 and 20 are on the electoral roll for the 15th General Election.
However, pundits say it remains to be seen whether they will come out to vote.
This will be the first litmus test for Undi18 in a national poll.
Analysts say political parties must seize the opportunity to attract this pool of voters into a vote bank.
Prof Dr Nik Ahmad Kamal Nik Mahmod of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) said youth voices have grown louder following the lowering of the voting age to 18 and political parties must attract them.
He said that idealism themes have always resonated with the majority of youths.
“So, playing on the idealism theme may attract their votes,” he said.
Nik Ahmad said youths can be divided into various categories, such as those who are disinterested in the general election, first-time voters, party supporters and fence-sitters.
“A majority of young voters are those on the fence and they look for a party with fewer controversies,” he said.
Dr Azmi Hassan, a senior fellow at the Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research, said that young voters may be very vocal on social media but the question remains on whether this will translate into turning up to vote.
Thus, he said it is crucial for political parties to convince them to cast their ballots.
He also cautioned that these young people may be discouraged from voting if the candidate is an “old face” with whom they could not relate to.
Azmi also said it is important for political parties to touch on issues that are close to the hearts of young people, such as career prospects, job opportunities, home ownership and climate change.
“Environmental issues are rarely raised by parties and candidates,” Azmi said.
Political pundit Dr Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd Mokhtar of IIUM noted that the over 1.3 million voters under the Undi18 category are a significant number that could influence the electoral outcome.
“So far, I have not come across any poll that can conclusively estimate their political tendency.
“This is a complicated group of voters, having interests mainly in their tertiary studies or early career,” he said.
Tunku Mohar said that these voters can play a role, especially in “hot seats” previously won marginally by the candidate.
Thus, he said, political parties have to understand the young voters’ interests and hopes and address them accordingly.
“Having candidates that can comfortably relate to this group of voters can help get their support.
“But such candidates, of course, have to appeal to the other voter categories too,” he added.
Universiti Sains Malaysia senior lecturer Dr Azmil Mohd Tayeb said young first-time voters could not be considered as a vote bank yet as their voting patterns are still unpredictable.
On how political parties could appeal to the Undi18 group, Azmil said they should focus on bread-and-butter issues such as student debts, job employment and the rising cost of living, among others.
According to the Election Commission, there are 1,393,549 people aged between 18 and 20 on the electoral roll of over 21 million.
