Johor polls in spotlight as reforms see youth voter influx

 

With Undi18, the general election will see 5.8 million new eligible voters in Malaysia.

JOHOR BAHRU: Johor will hold the first elections since the country lowered its voting age to 18 tomorrow, with 750,000 new ballots added to the state polls seen as a litmus test for a general election that could be called this year.

Political parties are fielding younger candidates, promising jobs, digital connectivity and help for businesses, in a bid to woo new voters in Johor, where reforms lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 and allowing automatic voter registration have expanded the local electorate by a third.

The polls for the state legislature will be closely watched ahead of national elections that could be called as early as July, which would be the first big test for Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN), led by Umno.

The general election will see 5.8 million new eligible voters in Malaysia, a 40% increase.

Analysts expect the Johor elections to swing in favour of Umno and BN, the dominant force until recently, but a win might not come easy with the sudden influx of young voters.

“Johor is a chance for us to learn how to approach and campaign for young people,” said state Umno Youth chief Mohd Hairi Mad Shah, who is contesting in Larkin.

“The turnout will be an indicator of how successful we are in mobilising voters amid the Covid-19 pandemic and an uncertain political environment.”

Many youths in Johor told Reuters they were tired of political infighting and could not keep up with the numerous factions in play.

In a harbinger for future elections, Johor’s polls will have multi-cornered fights for all 56 seats, with three coalitions – BN, Perikatan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan – and other parties and independent candidates all vying for a spot.

“You have so many parties now but they’re all the same,” said salesgirl Sharifah Nurdiyana Syed Azhar, 20, who will cast her first ballot on Saturday.

Young people who spoke to Reuters were unmoved by efforts to court them, including those of Muda, a newly formed youth and reforms-based party.

“Young voters are more objective and have less loyalty to certain parties,” Muda’s Bukit Kepong candidate, Afiqah Zulkifli, said.

“The biggest challenge for us is to convince them that we are different and that we have the right ideas and policies for them.” - FMT