NINETEEN-YEAR-OLD Arvind De Silva is excited that the court has finally ordered the government to enforce Undi18 by the end of the year.

More than a year of Covid-19 lockdowns have given him plenty of time to catch up to Malaysian politics, and he can’t wait to vote out politicians who play the racial card and who are out of touch with youth.

The University of Melbourne architecture student told The Malaysian Insight it is important for young to participate in voting as the older people do not understand what his generation needs.

“There are a lot of people in Parliament who are quite old and don’t represent the majority of the demographic in the country. Younger voters will bring about wider youth representation in Parliament,” he said.

“Youth are not susceptible to race-based politics, they are more concerned about actual policies that affect them.”

Arvind wants to see issues such as education and sports be given more focus.

Sentiments like his show that political parties need to change their approach and rhetoric to reach voters, said Bersih 2.0 chairman Thomas Fann.

The head of the electoral reform coalition said with youth added to the electoral roll, political parties will be under pressure to field candidates to whom the generation can relate.

“In order to win youth votes, political parties would be under pressure to field younger candidates who can better relate to the aspirations of the youth.

“They would also put forward more youth-centric policies in their manifestos,” he said.

Fann said that unlike the older generation, youth do not feel strong loyalty to any party.

Political parties will therefore have to look at policies that prioritise education and job opportunities to win votes, he said, adding that race and religion, which have shaped the political discourse for the older generation of politicians and voters, won’t work.

On September 3, the Kuching High Court ordered the Election Commission (EC) to implement Undi18 by year end to allow youth to vote at the next general election, which is due by 2023. The federal government has indicated that it will not appeal the decision.

The constitutional amendment to lower the voting age to 18 from 21 was passed in a historic unanimous vote in the Dewan Rakyat on July 16, 2019, approved by the Dewan Negara on July 25 and gazetted two months later on September 10.

However, the change of government and the Covid-19 pandemic has delayed its implementation, while analysts have also observed that allowing 18-year-olds to vote may not be advantageous to some political parties.

There are an estimated 1.2 million Malaysians currently aged 18 to 20 years old, according to the youth who filed the action.

Who will Undi18 benefit? 

Political analyst Oh Ei Sun, cautioned that just because a large number of young adults voted for the opposition in the 2018 general election, it does not mean that the new batch of 18 to 20-year-old voters will do the same in the coming election.

“(Support for the opposition) is to a large extent true, but only with respect to urban and suburban constituencies,” he said.

Oh said Islamist party PAS might in hold sway over youth voters in rural areas.

“In the rural constituencies you will find that PAS has been doing its groundwork all these years, setting up religious schools and brainwashing a lot of the rural voters, young and old alike.

“They will be able to mobilise their army of young voters to flood rural constituencies.”

Having said that, Oh said it is still too early to determine the full impact of Undi18.

“I think it is too early to tell if Undi18 will ultimately benefit the opposition or the ruling party, especially PAS.”

Whoever young voters decide to support is less important than the fact that they know they can exercise this democratic right, said Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah.

“What is important now is to raise the political awareness among youth to help them make informed decisions when we go to the polls.

“Most important is to give them the information on voting and it’s up to them who they want to vote for.

“As long as they come out to vote I’m quite happy, it doesn’t matter who they vote for,” said the PKR lawmaker.

Making youth understand how the democratic process works and their role in nation building is crucial, she added.

“It’s time the young get involved in the country’s business as it is their business as well.”

For secondary school graduate Mira Selvi, 18, the chance to vote is a chance to choose who she wants to run the country.

Like Arvind, she learnt more about the country’s politics during the pandemic, and what upset her most is the politicking.

Malaysia has changed governments three times in three years, the result of party-hopping the first time, and politicking the second time.

“It has been disheartening and awful to watch.

“Undi18 will allow the younger generation to voice out and vote for who they want to run the country,” said Mira who is waiting to go to college.

Economics student Muhamad Hamdi Ahmad Hakili, 20, said his interest in politics grew during the pandemic.

“I’m excited that youth can vote because we bring energy and we can disrupt the old sentiments in Malaysian politics with ideas that might seem radical at first, but when talked about often enough, will become normalised,” said the Harvard University student.

Hamdi advised youth to make informed decisions.  

“We must be aware of what the politicians are saying on social media and make informed decisions. Get the opinions of both sides rather than having a debate on who is right and wrong.” – September 22, 2021.