Norma Awang, a delegate from the Jerai Umno division, said 18-year-olds did not have the maturity and understanding of elections, voting, the democratic system and how their ballots affected the formation of the government and its policies.

“Thus, we urge the lawmakers and Umno’s representatives in the government to raise the voting age once more,” she said during a debate at the Wanita Umno wing meeting here.

Norma said Barisan Nasional was not “hip” enough to appeal to youth voters, saying this explained why Umno performed poorly in the 15th general election.

She said Malaysia’s 18-year-olds should not be compared with their counterparts in Western countries.

She said in many Western countries, many 18-year-olds were already pursuing their Master’s and PhDs whereas in Malaysia, most of them were busy “getting addicted to ketum leaves, Tik-Toking and experiencing puppy love”.

“In Malaysia, many 18-year-olds are even still relying on their parents to buy their underwear. They’ve only just finished their SPM examination,” she added.

Thus, Norma said the voting age in Malaysia should be raised to 23, adding that voters should have at least finished their undergraduate studies.

The Undi18 initiative, implemented by the government since December 2021, lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.

GE15 was the first for the implementation of the initiative and automatic voter registration. This added 5.8 million new voters to the electoral roll, a 40% increase.