Salleh on why young people back BN

KUALA LUMPUR: Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak yesterday outlined five factors contributing to the changing trend of increasing support from young voters for the Barisan Nasional.

Firstly, he said, young people had increasing confidence in the BN administration because of the unity among its leaders, the implementation of projects for the well-being of the people, its plans for the future of the country, and its ability to ensure national stability and security.

Secondly, the opposition pact was fragmented and cooperated purely with the intention of coming to power, he said.

“Thirdly, young people are bored with the issues raised by the opposition because they are irrelevant compared to the issues brought by the BN. The BN issues are well-being of the people, and national development and security.

“Fourthly, young people cannot accept the politics of chauvinism that stretches thin the harmonious racial relations compared to the BN’s painstaking efforts to form a united Malaysian nation,” he said in a post on his blog.

Salleh said the fifth factor was that young people no longer gave much thought to the political promises of the opposition but evaluated how those parties addressed various issues.

“These five factors strongly motivate young voters to be with the BN. They are confident of a more secure future for the country if the BN continues to administer Malaysia,” he said.

Salleh said that in the general election in 2013, some 41.98 percent of voters between the ages of 21 and 40 were quite critical of the BN government.

However, a change in the trend was seen in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar parliamentary byelections on June 18, 2016, when there was a surge in the support by young voters for the BN, he said.

He explained that in the Sungai Besar by-election, support for the BN from young Chinese voters rose by 23 percent to 38 percent from the 15 percent in the 13th general election. The support from young Malay voters rose by 13 percent to 78 percent from the 65 percent in GE13, he said.

“It was a similar case in Kuala Kangsar. There was a rise of 18 percent support from young voters for the BN, from 42 percent in GE13 to 60 percent in the byelection,” he said. - Bernama