PETALING JAYA: MCA's Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research (Insap) has kicked off its first international engagement for the year with a meeting with the youth wing of Parti Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan (PDIP).
Headed by the legislative candidate of house representatives in the Republic of Indonesia, Ibu Regina Vianney Ayudya, she was accompanied by the Foreign Affairs Bureau of the DPP Banteng Muda Indonesia (BMI).
Meanwhile, the meeting was chaired by MCA secretary-general Datuk Chong Sin Woon and deputy secretary-general Datuk Dr Pamela Yong, as well as leaders from MCA Youth headed by deputy Youth chief Mike Chong Yew Chuan.
The dialogue session, with the aim to understand the voter dynamics of Indonesia, given that Indonesia would be among the first few countries out of 64 countries in the world going to the polls in 2024, follows closely at the heels of the recent Taiwan election that just passed last weekend.
In the session, it was said that among the top issues faced by youths of Indonesia in this election would be accessibility to quality education, job opportunities, nutrition for the young, affordable housing, mental health and climate change.
"Quality education and political literacy are our focus this time, as youths are very much attracted to campaign messages filled with gimmicks, fake news, sensationalism and misinformation”, said Ibu Regina.
In an attempt to counter the confusion caused by cross-party dynamics that have taken place lately, she and her team have decided to reach out to grassroots Indonesians residing in Malaysia as foreign workers.
They will be travelling to Malaysia on a weekly basis to campaign among Indonesian citizens living here.
"It breaks my heart when I go to the ground and listen to the plight of my people.
"They relate their struggles to me and it saddens me when I see a lot of their basic aspirations in life are not met.
"However, I am encouraged to see the hope in their eyes for the future of Indonesia," she added.
In response to Ibu Regina’s campaign efforts, Chong commended their efforts to travel so far and wide to another country to ensure that every vote matters.
"This is the true spirit of democracy," he said.
Indonesians are set to go to the polls on Feb 14, 2024.
Over 205 million Indonesians will be going to the polls, half of which consists of youths between the ages of 17-40.
This year is touted to be an unprecedented year with over 40% of the world’s population going to the polls by the end of the year, including the United States.
