She said many youths were no longer certain about who they could rely on to protect and look after the fate of the country.

“Some now say that by changing the government it won’t change the situation.”

She said they had become disillusioned due to the complicated political scene, poor economic conditions and apparent corruption.

“They no longer see the need to participate in politics as their focus is on life struggles and other things that concern them more.”

She said political squabbling at the national level had affected their confidence in whoever assumes power in the future.

Anis said while the opposition was harping about taking over the government, it looked like they were planning it for their own benefit.

“Politicians should reflect on the actual current situation, on what needs to be done to meet the youths’ demands,” she told FMT.

She was commenting on former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s recent comment that there is a vast gap between the younger generation and those who are older in viewing the political situation in the nation.

The PPBM chairman, who also heads Pakatan Harapan, said this on Friday, following a town hall session with about 200 young Malaysians whom he faced with DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang on Nov 21.

He said he had come away with the impression that young people feel changing the government is not going to solve the ills besetting the nation, such as corruption and abuse of power.

He said he had the feeling that they believed the problem lay with the system and that “if the system is right, then everything will be fine”.

He advised young Malaysians to not be apathetic, but work to change the government, or else they may regret it later.

‘Corruption, power abuse can occur with new government’

Other youths interviewed by FMT said that while they wanted to see changes in the government, they wondered if that would bring positive results for the nation.

Ahmad Azlee Azizul, 26, said he used to eagerly keep himself updated on the politics of the country, but became disinterested after noticing many complications among the parties on both sides of the political divide.

“I would like to see the government change, which I hope would be able to fix things and bring back glory to the nation,” he said.

“But somehow, despite all the many promises made by politicians, we can barely see any (positive) outcome,” he said.

Noorathirah Anuar, 24, said she wanted to see a new government but asked if that would really be able to save Malaysia.

“Corruption and abuse of power can still happen. There is no guarantee of a stop to that,” she said.

She said politicians promised many things when elections were around the corner. “Empty promises make people (youths) feel disinterested,” she said.

She added that youths were looking forward to seeing improvements in education, which was of greater concern to them.

Dr M: Young Malaysians seem apathetic about changing the government