DAP Youth ready to work against political fatigue, apathy

 

INTERVIEW | The new line-up of DAP Youth leaders is gearing up for the next 15th general election to meet dual challenges of political fatigue and apathy among young voters.

DAP Youth chief Dr Kelvin Yii conceded that political fatigue among youngsters - a voter demographic attributed to Pakatan Harapan's rise to power in the last general election - was due to disappointments from what they perceived as unmet expectations by both the coalition and current Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

On the other hand, apathy remains among young people who shun politics and do not see a need to be involved in the electoral process, Yii told Malaysiakini in an interview this week.

"These are the two key factors that we have identified, and we have seen clear trends in the Sarawak, Johor and Malacca state elections," he added, alluding to losses suffered by DAP, PKR, as well as Amanah.

Following this, the new line-up of DAP Youth leaders is working hard to increase engagement with young voters through both social media and in-person ground events.

"One of the things we are doing is working closely at the DAP Youth level to increase such engagements.

"We have been organising at a local level, dialogues, even game nights, so that we can speak and reach out to the young people, to spread our message on how we want to address the issues that really affected them," said the Bandar Kuching MP.

Kelvin Yii (second from left) with top DAP Youth leaders

Through the engagements, DAP Youth managed to identify the main issues, which include quality jobs, affordable housing, access to healthcare and education, as well as environmental degradation.

DAP Youth has made it a point to take extra steps to propose related policy reforms rather than just being seen to speak up on these issues.

"That's one of our focuses, and we have our own public policy bureau where we discuss substantive policies to address them.

"That is where we communicate with the young people to tell them, 'You know what? We are not just fighting and shouting, but we are coming up with solutions and providing you with alternatives. This (DAP) is a platform that you can be a part of'," Yii said.

The newly minted DAP Youth chief pointed out that one of its main goals is to address disappointment among young voters towards politicians who are often seen to be mired in scandals.

The next general election, widely speculated to be held by year-end or early next year, will see the participation of first-time voters after the lowering of the minimum age from 21 to 18 and the implementation of automatic voter registration.

According to Yii, efforts are ongoing to reach out to more youths and convince them of the importance of voting.

"One of the campaigns we are supportive of, together with NGOs, is the Undi 100 campaign. This is a way to try and get as many young voters to vote in the coming election," he added.

'The original muda party'

Meanwhile, Yii noted that the DAP had throughout the party's history been proud to provide opportunities to elect young leaders at all levels, both within the party as well as parliamentary and state assembly seats.

Beyond allowing younger candidates to contest an election, Yii said they would often be fielded in "safe" or "winnable" seats held by a more experienced DAP representative who will then move to contest in a riskier constituency.

"This is something that our party takes pride in - that more experienced leaders in our party tend to give space to younger candidates in safer seats while they move to a more dangerous one.

"This is a culture embedded in our party that empowers and gives more opportunities for the youths," he said.

"I always say this, we are the original muda (young) party, because since the beginning, we were (made up of) young (people).

"The fact of the matter is that our current Central Executive Committee leadership is a young leadership," he added.

Since the last GE14, mounting public disillusionment and anger over failures to fulfil promises have led to growing calls for senior leaders - many of whom have been in politics for decades - to make way for their successors.

Within Harapan, a recent survey conducted by analytics firm Invoke Solutions found that opposition leader and PKR president Anwar Ibrahim now trails behind his daughter, Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, in terms of popularity.

The survey among 1,500 PKR members and 1,500 non-PKR members also found that Anwar's popularity decreased among younger voters.

From the opposition bench, aside from Harapan parties, the coming GE15 will also see more candidates from the youth-based party Muda after its successful debut in the last Johor polls. - Mkini