Research: Youths lack interest in politics, don't trust politicians

 

The youths lack interest in politics and do not trust the country's political actors, a recent study has shown.

According to the Malaysian Youth Index (2022) research by the Institute for Youth Research Malaysia (Iyres), youngsters were also concerned with the high cost of living in urban areas and were stressed from having to work more than one job.

"Youths remain at the 'unsatisfactory' level in terms of discussions on politics, and being updated with political developments. Even worse, youths are at the very 'unsatisfactory' index level for involvement in political activities.

"Many are uninformed about their automatic voter registration and continue to ask how to register to vote. Many also indicated their lack of trust in the political actors because of continuous instability and inconsistencies in promises," Iyres said in a statement today.

The youth index is an annual study conducted by the national research centre under the Youth and Sports Ministry, and studies various aspects of the development, education, and policy for youths in Malaysia.

The study focuses on six domains - education, mental and physical well-being; values and identity; economy; political socialisation, nationhood and democracy; and media and digital citizenship.

The research was conducted in both a quantitative and qualitative manner with the former involving a survey of 3,202 youths aged between 15 and 30 nationwide, while the latter involved focus group discussion with 44 youths based on eight targeted groups, and 48 youth implementor groups.

"The education domain recorded the highest index score at 83.64 (satisfactory level), whilst the economy recorded the lowest index score at 58.55 (less satisfactory level).

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"Youths want their teachers and educators to embrace a new conduct that emphasises the increasing interest in subjects rather than simply focusing on a student’s ability to memorise and pass exams,” Iyres said.

The research also showed that the youths scored low in financial literacy (41.67) but showed marked improvement in personal and environmental safety (overall feeling of being safe).

Rise in smoking, vaping

Worryingly, youth smoking and vaping rates increased by 10 index scores from 16.39 in 2021 to 26.47 in 2022.

"When it comes to healthy food choices, youths indicate their preference to eat food that has gone viral on social media versus food that is healthy.

"Because of the increased rate of vaping and smoking, youths call for more programmes to increase awareness and education about the health impacts of vaping and smoking."

More information on the youth index can be found here. - Mkini