SOME 57% of young voters believe that Malaysia is heading in the wrong direction, a sentiment that is driven by how they view their personal financial circumstances, a survey by Merdeka Center for Opinion Research revealed. 

The survey, which polled 604 respondents, found that cost of living was the biggest concern for voters aged 21-30 and it impacted their view of the ruling coalition’s performance. 

“Whether they are voters, non-voters, urban or rural, the sentiment is largely the same.

“But we have to note that among Chinese respondents, the sentiment is even more negative than everyone else. There is a sense of unhappiness about how things are,” programme director and co-founder Ibrahim Suffian said last night. 

“Of the 57% people who believe that the country is on the wrong track, almost half cite economic concerns,” he said. 

From the three major ethnic groups in the country, 67% of Chinese youngsters felt the country was on the wrong track, followed by Indians (60%) and Malays (54%). 

Among the economic concerns were unfavourable economic conditions, high cost of living or inflation, the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), weakening ringgit and unemployment or fewer jobs. 

“For the 32% who said the country was on the right track, they are mostly citing the tangible developments, infrastructure like transportation. So, no doubt these people are aware of MRT and improvements that the government is doing,” Ibrahim said.

The top six major issues concerning the young voters are  the economy (74.2%), social and public safety (3.1%), racial issues (2.5%), corruption (2.3%), politics (1.2%) and administration (1%).

“Youth are busy working and studying, and the other point is that a quarter of them feel that the act of voting does not change anything.

“So, as a conclusion, the survey does find that there is a degree of voter disenchantment with the process in the sense of being disempowered, that being part of the political process does not necessarily lead to the kind of changes that they want to see,” he added. 

The survey also revealed that 57% of young voters from rural areas were concerned about inflation, compared with 48% voters in urban areas. The survey was conducted in 165 constituencies in 12 states in Peninsular Malaysia, from August 3 to 8. – September 20, 2017.