Hand that rocks the cradle

The decisions politicians make will profoundly affect the future of and for our youths.

WHEN the constitutional amendment to lower the voting age to 18 was passed with unanimous support in both houses of Parliament in July 2019, I praised the efforts of civil society (principally UNDI18) that spearheaded it and the MPs who endorsed it.

The most prominent among the latter was Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman who was then the Youth and Sports minister.

This effort, together with automatic voter registration, increased the number of voters nationwide by 5.8 million, to a total of 21.1 million.

Since the amendment was gazetted, we have had a general election (in November 2022) to elect representatives to the Dewan Rakyat and state assemblies except Sabah and Sarawak (which held their elections in September 2020 and December 2021 respectively) and the six states, which held elections earlier this month.

There have been numerous analyses about the impact of these first-time voters. With official data difficult to access, the theories have been varied.

A predominant theme is that social media played a significant role, especially TikTok videos that centred on issues of race and religion. Others pointed fingers at bribery, alleging that cash was directly offered for votes. Still others pointed to campaigns by young people on public policy issues such as economic opportunities, education and the environment.

Some commentators, unhappy with the way the youth voted, have since suggested that the voting age should be reverted to the original 21 on the basis that young people are too immature or uneducated. I do not think this is a wise idea.

Firstly, it creates a terrible precedent in terms of removing rights already granted by the Federal Constitution. Secondly, it smacks of partisanship, since these proponents think these young people are voting the “wrong” way. Thirdly, it is lazy, for even if they are voting the “wrong” way, surely the more sustainable solution is to use reasoning and logic to win them over, rather than excluding them from the process.

Ideally, our young voters should have a thorough grounding in the Federal Constitution, functions of the institutions it creates, principles such as democracy, federalism and rule of law, and how these concepts existed in our region before the arrival of foreign powers.

Readers will know that I point this out at every opportunity. At convocation ceremonies recently, I noticed many hands with an ink-soaked finger receiving the scrolls from me. They had voted in the recent state elections.

In my speech to the graduates, I stressed that although many of them will go on to become outstanding doctors, engineers, architects, graphic designers and musicians, it is still important for them to keep abreast of the politics that will determine their future contributions.

Once in a while, there is an exceptional young Malaysian at the top of their field internationally, inspiring the young and old equally.

I was delighted to see Tengku Irfan back home, accompanying the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra at the Silver Gala Concert. He was playing Liszt’s Piano Concerto no. 2, and, as usual, he made the fiendish repertoire look simple. His encore included a remarkable tribute to the orchestra that was born, like him, in 1998.

There are many other fine Malaysian young musicians of course, and I am looking forward to including the brilliant Seremban Quartet in a squash tournament being organised by the Negri Sembilan Squash Association.

The Tuanku Muhriz Trophy has been running since 2020, but this time the event has been upgraded to PSA Challenger Tour 15, meaning there is more prize money as well as ranking points.

Certainly, this is the biggest squash event that Negri Sembilan has ever seen, and it is taking place at the refurbished squash centre. Comprising eight glass-backed courts (including four that can be converted into two doubles courts) and one fully glass arena show court, it is the best squash facility in the country at present.

I am grateful to the Youth and Sports Minister (and previous ministers), the Negri Sembilan state government and numerous private sponsors for supporting this expansion.

Already, we are seeing how young Malaysian players are reaping the benefits of better training and the opportunity to compete in tournaments, for it is active competition that prepares them for bigger things.

Understandably, not everyone is a musical prodigy or budding athlete. Some people bloom later in life in other fields, and that is precious too. Hanging out recently with the children of my cousins and friends, I was constantly reminded that the decisions politicians make will profoundly affect their future.

Now that there are no elections due for some years, I hope politicians on all sides will invest into the long-term project of helping youths realise their ambitions, instead of their own short-term glory. Tunku Zain Al-‘Abidin is president of the Negri Sembilan Squash Association. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.

Tunku Zain Al-‘Abidin is the founding president of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas). The views expressed here are the writer’s own.