Come Nov 19, Malaysians as young as 18 will be able to turn out for parliamentary elections. For many it will be their first opportunity to participate in the democratic process. Many others have already had that experience in the Johor state election in December.
Young people now have more say than ever before about the Malaysia they want to live in.
The major political parties all know this, too. While some Pakatan Harapan supporters argue that the Undi18 bill (to lower the voting age) played to the opposition’s advantage, they seem to forget that there are teenagers everywhere, not just in Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
It’s why a common narrative among politicians stepping away from politics recently has been to “give way to the next generation”.
Now, the electoral roll has been filled with a deluge of new voters waiting to be mined by political parties. A new demographic for them to spin their rhetoric for in pursuit of power. I’d argue that it’s the biggest ‘x-factor’ heading into GE15.
Expect every party to nominate a smattering of token “young candidates” before publicly patting themselves on the back for fielding such a fresh face. Oh, and don’t forget the cringe-inducing social media campaigns sure to be launched in the coming weeks.
If you’re heading out to vote for the first time, it’s important to remember that policy trumps all. The average age of a party’s candidate or leadership is far less important than what they plan to do if they’re handed the keys to the country.
Just look at the groundswell of support garnered by Jeremy Corbyn in the UK and Bernie Sanders in the US. Both were embraced by young voters and activists well into their 60s and 70s owing to their progressive approaches to pertinent issues like education reform and housing affordability. Both had activist roots themselves, too, further endearing them to reformists.
Even Joe Biden, who’s never been nearly as popular among young voters, recently announced a historic student loan forgiveness scheme set to save young Americans billions. And as his defeated opponent Donald Trump often reminded us, Biden is no spring chicken.
With manifestos no doubt being written as we speak, consider the things that will be important to you over the next five years and what you’d want to see.
Do you want a fairer higher education system free from racial influence? Is the state of the graduate job market something that matters to you? You might see your local MP once a year at a public event, maybe. But the policies they and their party support will affect you every day.
Politics has always had an age problem, and that’s especially true in Malaysia today. It’s not so much that our leaders are old, it’s that their thinking is, too. Not only have they blocked young people from rising up the ranks and having real influence on the country, but they’ve insisted on peddling the same policies that got us to where we are today.
The lack of wage growth and unaffordable housing threatens to condemn a generation to a worse future than what their parents enjoyed.
Revolutionary solutions are needed to undo the institutional damage caused by years of inaction. Where they come from doesn’t matter. Young people want genuine action, not mere acknowledgement that we exist, and peacemeal attempts to appease voters with the odd young candidate will only alienate them further.
Until politicians understand this, expect a flood of out-of-touch memes and other head scratching attempts to pander to the youth in the lead up to polling day. Young voters, more politically active and vocal than ever before, will be first to call the government out for its failures (don’t forget the role social media outrage played in mounting public pressure against Muhyiddin’s government).
Perhaps it’s something they’ll only realise in the aftermath of GE15. Hopefully it clicks eventually.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.