MALAYSIAN politics is transitioning to a more participatory democracy, where citizens must make real choices.
We've had three governments and three prime ministers since the last general election in 2018. Is this democracy?
The voters' choice used to be clear. A coalition wins a majority and its leader becomes prime minister.
That principle has been compromised by legislators switching parties and the wheeling and dealing among politicians.
The same is true of a prime minister. Which party is he leading and does that party command a majority in Parliament?
We have had a government of shaky coalitions, and as Melaka has demonstrated, a leader, under these circumstances, can be held to ransom.
The Melaka state election is manifesting this situation. The country is in a flux, but what kind of flux?
Malaysians want something, hence the confusion among politicians. They're planning to secure a broader voter base by lowering the minimum voting age.
The 15th General Election will witness the wisdom of this decision. An obvious question is, are our 18-year-olds informed enough politically? The curriculum does not teach them about governance.
What is pushing Malaysians away from the certainty of the past? The many corruption cases among politicians could be a reason.
That voters are increasingly more engaged is a good sign of a maturing democracy.
Voters are starting to think and are no longer dictated to and disinformed. Unfortunately, politicians are obsessed about seeking power to the point where their manifesto is full of pipe dreams. They fight among themselves.
Will 18-year-olds rescue us from this politics of capitalist predation? Will they understand the altruism of politics? Can they sieve through the political propaganda that landed us in today's uncertainties?
Of course, the pandemic has left us with little room to manoeuvre. Indeed, much of the world has moved on to accepting 18-year-old voters.
And it must be said that there has not been any sense that it was a wrong decision.
Instead, with this responsibility, they appear to have matured faster. Just look at the climate change scenario. The young are driving it.
Activist Greta Thunberg has been heard everywhere, even at the World Economic Forum in Davos. She is now at the COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, where she is pushing for world leaders to take action for climate change mitigation.
Will she succeed? That she has spunk is undeniable.
But are Malaysians pragmatic enough to allow for youthful exuberance in politics?
Can our youth lead us to a future of political stability where democracy is more than just about casting votes? This, of course, is not just about leading street protests.
Can our youth see the way forward and build the new norms for a politics of the future?
The author is a former NST Leader writer