LETTERS: Recently, we conducted a survey among 381 university students for six days from Nov 11 to understand their intention and motivation to vote in the 15th General Election (GE15).
We find that the overwhelming majority of university students (91 per cent) aged 18-24 are eager and excited to perform their civic duty to vote. They see voting as an 'in-thing' with 77.4 per cent agreeing they should go out to vote or else experience the awkward feeling of fear of missing out.
They feel that voting is crucial in determining the direction of their future (97.9 per cent) and they are aware that voting is a fundamental right for every citizen (99 per cent).
However, they have a pessimistic attitude towards political parties. This is in line with the inclination of youths to be non-partisan in their political approach. 37.3 per cent of the respondents expressed their displeasure with the political parties' offerings during the current campaign period.
Parties' campaigns are not the main driving force to persuade young voters to vote as only 60.8 per cent are influenced by them.
We also find that most of the first-time voters surveyed highlighted their motivation to vote strongly correlates with the role played by their family members (94.2 per cent) followed by educators (89.3 per cent) and peers (83.2 per cent).
The social media influencers' role in influencing university students to vote is the least significant (68.2 per cent). This illustrates the importance of a supportive environment to encourage our youths to participate in elections and exercise their civic duty.
As political parties are trying to scout and attract these first-time voters through social media, they should be mindful that these young voters are less likely to vote along partisan politics despite the parliamentary system that we adopted which emphasizes partisan loyalty.
They want to see fresh candidates with calibre to represent them in Parliament. They are adamant about the political values they want to see in Malaysia's future.
Forty per cent indicate that the most important value is a political party with political leaders who are free from corruption, 24 per cent emphasize leaders who can champion the interest of the people and nation, 20 per cent prioritized a party that offers societal and institutional reforms and 15 per cent opted for a party that can offer them stability.
As Malaysian youths are presented with a future full of challenges in a brittle, anxious, non-linear, and incomprehensible world, they are looking to take charge of their future and to ensure that their voices are heard by policy makers.
We need to provide support and encourage them to exercise their rights. To do so, we need to play our role as someone's family member, peer, or educator.
We must ensure our youths are equipped with the right tools and knowledge to make informed decisions when they cast their votes for the first time on Saturday.
Rabi'ah Aminudin
Syaza Farhana Mohd Shukri
Norhaslinda Jamaiudin
Department of Political Science, International Islamic University Malaysia
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times