THE older generation does not believe youth and first-time voters will make a difference in the general election.

Youth apathy is a myth. 

Older folk say the youth of today have a sense of entitlement. Young people are “not ready” or “mature enough” to vote.

If the older people were to talk to the youth, they will find that all this is rubbish.

They are absolutely right about young people being selective about jobs. Why not? Why should youths of today settled for low-paying jobs when our country is supposedly an upper middle-class income economy?

Companies blame the poor quality of graduates on the universities , which in turn blame the schools for not equipping the students with the right skills and mindset. Do the companies invest in capacity-building programmes for fresh graduates and the universities work with schools to shape better-rounded students?

Where are the parents in all this?  

This notion that young people are “not ready” to vote is ageist. Just because people are older doesn’t mean that they are wiser.

The country is where it is because of the older generation couldn’t care less about demanding accountability from the politicians.

After the 2008 election– when the BN regime was denied a two-thirds majority – the country saw a mushrooming of non-governmental and civil society organisations as it underwent a period of democratisation. 

The youth launched hundreds, if not thousands, of campaigns to shed light on various issues such as LGBT, financial literacy and Orang Asli empowerment.

The 2008 and 2013 elections saw a huge turnout of youth serving as volunteers and mobilising people to vote. 

It was the 2020 disintegration of the Pakatan Harapan government that soured young voters.

So let’s not blame each other.

The general election does matter to young people. 

The youth understand the need to vote on November 19. – November 3, 2022.

* FLK reads The Malaysian Insight.