Undi 18, kingmaker or hype?

Three years ago, Malaysia made history when a bill to lower the minimum age of voting from 21 to 18 was passed with unanimous support by politicians from both sides of the political divide.

The Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019, which also included automatic voter registration and allowed 18-year-olds to run for office, came into effect on Dec 15 last year.

Now, as voters in Johor head to the polls this weekend in the fourth state election since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, for the first time, some 700,000 youth will be among them.

Youth voters, dubbed Undi 18 after the bill, had not been a factor in the previous elections in Sabah, Melaka and Sarawak.

But today, with just one day to go before election day tomorrow, political parties are racing to secure their vote.

Youth-based party Muda appears to be ahead in this respect although MalaysiaNow previously reported that it would be difficult to determine with any certainty where the Undi 18 vote would go.

How the youth eventually do vote will be closely studied by parties as part of preparations for the 15th general election.

Syazliana Hisham, a Form Six student at SMK Tun Perak in Muar, is raring to go. Although tomorrow will be her first time casting a ballot, she has been following political developments in the country for a long time.

“I am inclined towards certain political parties because I see that some of them are very committed to fighting for the people, especially the youth,” she said.

But her enthusiasm is not shared by everyone.

Muhammad Razi, a 28-year-old fisherman based in Muar, said he had never gone to vote as he was not registered.

“I don’t know much about politics,” he told MalaysiaNow.

“They always start off one way and then after that what happens? They vanish.”

Razi who has been working since he was 15 years old also has reservations about Muda, led by Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

Syazliana meanwhile said that the party was a good initiative. However, she said the irony was that its candidates were too young to take on the responsibilities of being elected representatives.

“We’re talking about administering a state, not a school or university,” she said.

“If Muda were contending at the university level, maybe I would vote for them.”

The youngest candidates contesting the Johor election are Kelly Chye Pei Yee of Barisan Nasional (BN) and Muhammad Airel Zabridin of Pejuang, both of whom are 26 years old.

Chye is running in the Mengkibol state seat while Airel is being fielded in Tangkak.

At the Melaka election last year, Pakatan Harapan had fielded 21-year-old Farzana Haryani in Sungai Rambai.

When it comes to social media, seen as the natural habitat of the youth, Syazliana acknowledged that she follows a number of politicians on the various platforms.

However, she said her personal stand remained firm, adding that even her own family could not sway her beliefs.

Razi meanwhile said that the realities he faces upon returning from the sea each day are more concrete than the hype on social media which may or may not depict the truth of the matter.

And while the youth are often linked to change, liberalism and new life, not all of them are attracted by such rhetoric.

Nur Nabila Yuzaini, 24, lives in Pasir Gudang. While she is not very knowledgable about current political affairs, she is aware of the policies of the various coalitions.

“The issue that impacted me the most was the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said.

“At the time, PH was governing the country and they didn’t seem serious about bringing the virus under control.”

Nabila would eventually lose her father to the highly contagious virus.

Now a student at Universiti Teknologi Mara, she does not believe that age should be used as a benchmark of a candidate.

“I’m more interested in their potential and ability,” she said.

“If someone can carry out their duties with integrity even though he or she isn’t young, what’s wrong with that?

“The older ones are also more experienced and know a lot.”