Wet weather won’t keep youngsters away on polling day

PETALING JAYA: Eager for their voices to be heard through the ballot box, many first-time voters are heading to the polls come rain or shine.

R. Divya, 21, who intends to bring umbrellas and raincoats when she goes to the polling station with her family, returned to her hometown of Bentong from Kuala Lumpur where she has been studying office management at a local university.

“I want to vote for a candidate who has contributed to the Bentong community and who always has our district’s welfare in mind.

“I believe the smartest way to pick a candidate is to compare your ideals to their manifesto and determine who agrees with you on the majority of topics,” she said in an interview.

Divya said she would be voting based on the candidate’s credentials and manifesto rather than their party.

Engineering student Jonathan John, 19, from Selangor, said he travelled back from Perak to cast his vote.

“We should always be responsible citizens and vote as it is our given right.

“I’m glad that my parents share the same sentiment as they were willing to drive all the way to Perak just to bring me back home,” he said.

As a student, he said he cared deeply about educational aid programmes and would vote for the party that championed such causes.

Manush Nair, 18, is also one of those who will be arming himself with an umbrella and raincoat.

The college student from Puchong said after having gone through the various manifestos, he would consider what a candidate and the party had to offer.

“I wouldn’t want someone who is just there for the wealth and power as this will lead to our nation’s downfall,” he added.

Sarawakian Tony Tang, 22, will be catching a flight back to Miri today.

Besides reading up on the various manifestos, Tang has been following political developments on social media.

“Social media has made it easy for the younger generation to compare the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate,” said Tang, who is currently living in Subang Jaya.

Another student Moses Lau, 22, who is doing his internship in Kuching, will also be travelling to Miri to vote.

Lau plans to head out to his polling station as early as 7am on polling day to avoid the long queues.

Asked whom he would vote for, he said this would be based on the candidates’ track record and their promises in the past.