Voon Zhen Yi, who is manager of programme and research at the Centre for Public Policy Studies, said more than 70% of MPs are above the age of 50, with young politicians often sidelined in favour of older party members.
Although some had managed to break into the political scene, he said, this was often due to their family connections.
In a commentary on East Asia Forum, Voon pointed to Prime Minister Najib Razak, who was elected in 1976 at the age of 23. Najib, the son of Malaysia’s second prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein, won unopposed out of respect for his father who had died that year, Voon said.
On the opposition front, meanwhile, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was elected to Parliament at the age of 24, while Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar was elected to a parliamentary seat at 28.
“This may not necessarily be political nepotism. It could merely reflect older family members teaching their young the ropes, or it could reflect that these younger politicians have gained the vision and aspiration to pursue a career in politics of their own accord,” Voon added.
“Nonetheless, having a family member in a senior political position undoubtedly clears the way.”
Voon also attributed the low number of young politicians to legislative barriers which discouraged youths from getting involved in politics.
He pointed to the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971, which he said disallows active political participation despite an amendment in 2012.
Political parties are also prohibited from setting up branches in universities, he said.
This had contributed to a fall in political interest, particularly among “young upper middle-class opposition voters” who were also dissatisfied with Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s return to active politics.
Many of these young people have united behind the #UndiRosak movement, which calls for voters to spoil their ballots in protest against both Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional.
A recent survey by Merdeka Center and youth voter registration NGO Watan showed that 70% of the 604 young people surveyed were not interested in politics.
Some 66% were of the view that politicians were not trustworthy, 54% felt that politicians did not care about people’s problems, and 66% felt that politicians themselves were the cause of many problems.
A whopping 71% of those surveyed felt that they had no influence on the government, and 75% felt that politics was complicated.
Almost 40% of them were not registered to vote.
According to the Election Commission, 3.8 million eligible Malaysians had not registered to vote as of March 2017.
Two-thirds were aged between 21 and 30, making them the largest bank of non-voters in the country.
“This trend is particularly worrying when one considers the prospects for Malaysia’s political future – the youth of today, who will inevitably become the leaders of tomorrow, will be unprepared and lack experience,” Voon said.
“To mitigate such an outcome, parties must show sincerity towards youth involvement in politics and deliberately create opportunities for their voice to be heard.
“Until such changes take place, the prospects for Malaysian youths taking an interest in politics will remain wishful.”