Youths concerned over election date

First time voters say the delay puts BN in a bad light.

KUALA LUMPUR: Young urban voters see the Prime Minister’s delay in announcing the election date as a sign of indecisiveness.

FMT spoke to several Klang Valley residents between the ages of 21 and 25 and found that most were concerned with the uncertainty over the election date.

They also claimed that their generation was not apathetic to issues concerning the wellbeing of the nation and that they were exposed to arguments from both sides of the political divide.

Melvin Lourdes, a marketing executive, said he agreed with many of his friends that the delay did not put BN in a good light.

“It only shows that they have no confidence in getting the support of the public,” he said.

“I also feel that even members of the ruling government might be looking forward to election dates as they too need to do necessary preparations.” said Melvin.

However, undergraduate Su-Ann said she suspected that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was being pressured by BN to milk every last opportunity to sway the votes towards the ruling coalition.

She appeared to resent any suggestion that her generation was politically apathetic. “We are aware and concerned, but fed up of all the politicking,” she said.

IT student Naveen Thomas said political apathy was rare these days, regardless of which age group one would refer to.

“City folk are well versed with the current political situation, especially because of the Internet,” he said.

Lourdes agreed with Thomas. “Each side will say that the party it supports will fulfil its manifesto and the other coalition’s manifesto is an empty dream,” he said.

He believes that only a small number of city youths are politically apathetic. “They believe that politics is not for them or that they cannot bring much change with their one vote.”

Too much polemics

However, copywriter David Lim said he felt apathy had come about among youths because there did not seem to be a “clear leadership or a sense of direction for the country”.

According to him, the delay in announcing the election was not a good indicator of a decisive government.

Some are of the opinion that apathy among youths is the result of too much polemics in the public arena on issues that hold little relevance to their concerns.

Technical writer Andrew Yew said he felt some people were apathetic because a lot of the issues raised in current political discourse do not relate to the needs of the young working class.

Fresh graduate Ivan Chong said he knew of young people who had not registered to vote because they had despaired of the Malaysian system of governance.

He said this could have been brought about by their disappointment with the seeming lack of government determination to address such issues as income disparities and the deterioration of the education system.