POLITICAL parties should have policies and campaigns that match youth aspirations in order to woo them ahead of the 15th general election (GE15), Jason Wee, co-founder of Architects of Diversity (AOD) said today.

He said this citing a recent survey conducted by AOD, where it showed that a significant portion – 41% – of youth are still unsure of their political preferences, although they intend to vote in the next general election.

“Political parties should take heed and ensure to include youth as a campaign priority if they want to capture what could be a pivotal electorate,” Wee said at a press conference today.

GE15 will be the first general election in the country where 18-year-olds will be eligible to cast their votes.

With the lowering of the minimum voting age from 21 to 18, close to four million voters in the 18 to 21 age group are expected to be added to the electoral roll.

Wee said that 80% of those surveyed reported their intention to vote, while 13% are on the fence.

Statistics show that 55% of the 80% who intend to vote have never voted before.

The survey, involving 3,089 respondents, was carried out by AOD in collaboration with Undi18 and Undi Negaraku.

Respondents of the survey were aged between 18 and 30.

This study was done as part of #Undi100Peratus, a campaign seeking to achieve 100% youth voter turnout in the next general election.

Based on the study, Wee said that socio-economic issues remain their major concern, and called on political parties to address it.

“A lot of youth surveyed agreed that socio-economic issues are primary concerns.

“Political parties need to articulate how they can make Malaysia a more equal place in terms of having access to socio-economic justice.

“In terms of having access to quality standards of living, they (political parties) have to make sure youth are able to make ends meet and have roofs over their heads.

“These are primary concerns of youth that have a lot of appetite that should be addressed,” Wee said.

Wee said if political parties are able to motivate youth with good political policies and aspirations, then they can entice them to vote.

Based on the survey, Wee also said 50% of the respondents said there are too few women in politics, while 33% responded saying there are just enough.

As for youth representation, 63% of the respondents said there are too few youth in politics, with 22% saying there are just enough.

When it came to racial representation, the youth were split – a third (34%) felt there is just enough while another third (33%) felt there is too little. – May 25, 2022.