An appeal to Undi18 and Muda to work together to grow youth participation in politics


UNDI18 and Muda and the youth in general should work together to give young people a voice in policy making.

Approximately 38% of the Malaysian population, or 10 million, are aged under 19 and five million of them are eligible to vote in the next general election.

Undi18 and Muda should not enter into alliance with any of the existing coalitions, be it Barisan Nasional, Perikatan Nasional, Pakatan Harapan, GRS, Warisan or GPS. All these alliances are no different from each other. Each of them are filled with sick, old, corrupt, and misogynistic politicians and each of these parties carries bagfuls of rotten baggage that can never be discarded. There are no politicians among the existing political parties who truly understand and represent the beliefs of the young people about environmentalism, urban poverty and socio-economic issues. The reality is that majority of them continue to be rooted in racial and religious agendas.

Even though they are especially well placed to encourage the participation of young people, none have opened to the younger generation and even if they have, they devote only limited resources for youth inclusion and do not play an active role in encouraging young people to participate.  

Not only they do not encourage young people, they exclude others who may have leadership potential. The older people are often not interested in seeing young people in their space so they tend to block this space. Political parties struggle to accept young people who are often excluded or overlooked as election candidates. To these existing political parties, politics is typically regarded as a space for politically experienced men. The majority of them are “family” organisations.

Our educational system does not nurture and encourage young people to debate, present and deliberate on current issues, so in most cases they are left behind and leaving them the impression that a representation/political career entails only attending functions and campaigns.

The pandemic has left many young people unemployed and disconnected. Their trust in political processes is dwindling due to lack of awareness and the issue of corruption among leaders, which make young people believe that their vote will not make any difference. Many young people feel marginalised and can be easily radicalised. Some resort to protests and non-violent actions to express their political dissatisfaction. In fact, many young people no longer believe in the system or in the value of voting following the events of February 2020 and after.

Young people need to be heard. They can be a creative force, a dynamic source of innovations, and they have throughout history participated, contributed, and even catalysed important changes in political systems, power sharing dynamics and economic opportunities. However, youth also face poverty, barriers to education, multiple forms of discrimination, and limited employment prospects and opportunities.

The situation is even more difficult for young women as well as women at mid-level and decision making/leadership positions due to the patriarchal nature of our society.

Thus, it is important that Undi18 and Muda continuously engage with youth in a sustainable way to encourage them to take responsibility for their own futures no matter the reasons for their disaffection. Young people often do not want to be categorised but want people to engage with them openly and respect their view that they are adults. Some progressive policies in response to youth concerns such as measures aimed at job creation, social inclusion and youth volunteerism were implemented by Khairy Jamaluddin when he was the minister for youth and sports in 2017-2018 but none encouraged political participation. All the policies died a natural death  with the change of government in May 2018.

It is essential for Undi18 and Muda to build the confidence of young people in governance systems and in particular the importance of looking beyond elections as an event, with strategies that build confidence in the democratic process and elections as a vehicle for change. It is important to get young people to participate early so that they appreciate the importance of engaging in a responsible and ethical manner. There are many temptations in politics and it is important to maintain an ethical but friendly disposition when confronted with such challenges. There are no easy approaches, shortcuts or quick wins to achieve positive results.

The biggest challenge for Undi18 and Muda is the mobilisation of resources including campaign funding. Even though required resources are severely limited, Undi 18 and Muda should not sell out by collaborating with the existing political parties, but look at other initiatives and organisations to assist with implementation and engaging young people. Since almost every young person is adept in social media, Undi18 and Muda can opt for crowd sourcing and crowd funding for their resource needs. 

The prize that every political party will salivate over would be if Undi18 and Muda were able to develop a database of youth online groups where they can systematically solicit input from youth groups on how to spur their participation in the country’s politics.

Undi 18 and Muda can also establish:

1. Strategic alliances with youth organisations to reach young people who have no access to the internet media;

2. Ties with young technocrats interested in policy making and have the knowledge to enact legislation for the betterment of society; 

3. A mock commission on integrity and mediation that will help to build mediation capacity among young people will help young people to understand that politics is not a money-making venture but an avenue to serve the public interest and that they should be accountable for their actions when in service and to always seek their communities for their opinions before taking a decision whether at parliamentary or state level;

4. An innovation camp for youth with features like mock elections, interactive training on public speaking, the use of social media for development, a culture of dialogue to teach effective communication and persuasion skills. Special attention could be given to reinforcing the role of young women in leadership. The camp can also raise awareness of good leadership and what is possible with good leadership.

5. Regular podcasts with entertaining stories about the experiences of young people to inform them of their civic rights and responsibilities, and break down the ida that youth should refrain from active roles in public life

6. Research support from the various think tanks to be equipped with knowledge to initiate laws and policies supporting young people

7. Working relationships with retired MPs and assemblymen – not sitting ones – to mentor and coach the young people

Youth participation in politics has increasingly been the focus of advocacy in political issues. 

Recently the responses of youth to political decisions have revealed critical thinking hence some of the political leaders have turned to social media platforms to seek positive action plans for adoption.

Young people are interested and engaged in the next general election and they believe they can make a difference. Over the past two years, our young people have regularly shown that their voices matter, they have brought up issues and convinced their peers to vote. They call out injustice and they advance social change. In recent months, their leadership has been on full display in the white flag movement to help the poor and in post-flood rescue and relief efforts.

Through these actions, the young people have shown that their political power extends far beyond the ballot box. 

Their actions show that young people care about a variety of public matters and that they are not blinded by the racial and religious rhetoric harped on by the political parties. 

Do not enter work with any of the existing political parties in the next election. These politicians have seen the power of the young people and they hope to ride on their coattails. They know that they cannot attract the youth with false promises.

The next general election will be crucial to establish a voting habit among young people. – January 24, 2022.

* FLK reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.


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Comments


  • You trust SS who was mentored by MM??

    Posted 2 years ago by Malaysian First · Reply