‘RAISE YOUTH POLITICAL AWARENESS’
They need to learn importance of voting, rights in school, say analysts
THE move to lower the voting age to 18 must be accompanied by efforts to raise political awareness and instil political literacy among the new younger voters.
Political analysts said the move to spur democracy in the country would be effective only if teenagers understood the importance of voting.
Universiti Utara Malaysia’s
Professor Dr Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani said the Education Ministry and Election Commission (EC) had an important role to play in raising awareness among teenage voters in regard to the importance of voting, as well as their right to vote, despite the move to lower the voting age being spearheaded by the Youth and Sports Ministry.
“There is a need to introduce formal and informal education at secondary schools to raise awareness on the importance of voting among youth if the voting age is lowered to 18, a year after they complete their Form Five studies.
“They need to be educated on political literacy before they leave school.
“Hence, it will be challenging for the Education Ministry and EC to find an equilibrium in creating a political awareness among the youth without politicising the schooling system,” Azizuddin said.
Analyst Associate Professor Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi said focus should be given to raising awareness of the importance of voting among the youth. “Educating the youth on the importance of voting, their rights and how they could contribute to nation-building will not take much time. In fact, in my estimation, it can be carried out in less than 16 minutes.”
Awang Azman said the move to lower the voting age was not something new in the global political scene as it had been implemented in other countries.
“There are also countries where the voting age had been lowered to 16,” he said, adding that Malaysia was decades behind in introducing the move.
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) chairman Thomas Fann said with an expected increase of up to four million voters by the next general election, lawmakers would need to come up with policies that catered to the aspirations of these younger constituents.
“The voices of the youth will not only be heard, but must seriously be taken into account if any party wants to gain political power through their votes.
“This will spur some of the younger voters to take a greater interest in politics and voice out issues affecting them and the country.”
Civil group Rise of Sarawak Efforts chairman Ann Teo said the move was important since it was the younger generation who will shape the future of the nation.