OVER 50% OF YOUNG MALAYSIANS STILL UNDECIDED ON WHO TO TRUST – NAJIB OR MAHATHIR?

KUALA LUMPUR – Over half of Malaysian youths polled in a recent survey were undecided on which party — if any — they trust to run the country.

The study by Kajidata Research found that 51.8 per cent of respondents disavowed any political affiliation, saying they could not clearly identify with any of the major political parties despite displaying strong political awareness.

Despite the common belief that ethnic Chinese voters favoured the opposition, 68 per cent of youths from the community were unsure about where to invest their support, or the most of all the country’s ethnic groups.

This was followed by the Bumiputera communities of Sabah and Sarawak, both above the 50 per cent mark, then the ethnic Indians and Malays at 47 per cent and 46 per cent, respectively.

Additionally, 53.1 per cent polled were unsure which political party they thought could bring prosperity to the country.

Most from the same demographic also could not predict which party would win the 14th general election (GE14), at 56.2 per cent.

They were given a choice between ruling coalition Barisan Nasional, Opposition pact Pakatan Harapan, or Islamist party PAS.

In the survey, 88.4 per cent of the youths polled professed to care about local politics, with 33.9 per cent saying they followed developments closely.

The research firm said understanding young voters’ sentiment and what they expect from the political leadership could prove vital in forming an effective campaign to tap support.

“This resounding sentiment is shared by all ethnicity in the country,” Kajidata adviser and research supervisor Datuk Seri Syed Arabi Idid said in a statement.

“As such, this pattern should be taken into serious consideration by all political parties as this is a large segment that is politically eager and impressionable but still have yet to decide which party they identify most with.”

“Ignoring which could result in a loss of a large portion of potential voters,” he added.

The opinion poll, done via automated phone interviews of 1,000 randomly selected young adults, was conducted between May 16 and June 1.

The youths were aged 21 to 35, and were selected across the country based on the voter size in each Parliament seat.

– Malay Mail