TOGETHER with the existing millions, these young “overnight” voters will be the ones taking the steering wheel of Malaysian politics in the next few general elections.
Let’s get ready for an “invasion” of sorts when automatic voter registration kicks in next year.
According to Election Commission (EC) estimates, we will have five million young Malaysians added to the voters’ list when this move takes effect.
The automatic registration was legislated by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government last year, as part of its pledge to execute electoral reforms.
This is the breakdown of the voters who will be on the list overnight: one million Malaysians from the age of 18 to 20, and four million who are above 22 and eligible to vote, but have yet to register.
From there on, 500,000 Malaysians who reach 18 years of age will find their names on the list automatically each year.
This is the first time that we are going to see such a huge surge, which I am sure will mean a tougher job for political parties because the number of voters in each constituency will see a huge jump.
They will also have to deal with the unknown factor of how politicised this group is, or if their maturity will be able to discern and assess the unprecedented carpet bombing by paid bloggers and cyber troopers taking place on social media.
For those not aware, these new voters will comprise Gen X, which is globally referred to as those born between 1965 and 1980, and who are currently between 40 and 55 years old.
The others are Gen Y or millennials (born between 1980 and 1994), currently between 24 and 39 years old. So, what would be their minds politically? Well, your guess is as good as mine.
While the Malaysian system of democracy has resulted in voters mainly opting for the party and not the candidate, it may now be different how these groups of voters think.
In the past, most of our minds were shaped by print media and TV.
With the outlets being owned directly or indirectly by the government or ruling political parties, we were subjected to the relentless bombardment of propaganda with little alternative views.
But now, the perception of youths has changed, with social media opening their minds like never before.
They now have a huge spectrum of news sources to educate or re-educate themselves politically.
Everyone is fully aware that many political battles are now being conducted in cyberspace.
As you can see, the number of news portals seems to be increasing, while the print media is scaling down.
But, there is a downside to this as we know. This is where politically aligned news will be available in abundance, with cyber troopers having a field day earning, while filling social media with fake and unverified items, many of which get forwarded without verification.
Malaysians are too lazy to find out the authenticity of suspicious news, many believing what they want to believe or what suits their political alignment.
I have personally noticed that even young Malaysians are not discerning enough in cyberspace.
Some actually take posts from satirical sites like The Tapir Times as truth, and comment on them seriously on Facebook!
If this is not enough, politicians and their officers are paying cyber troopers to peddle their lies or counter-lies on social media.
But get this right, these youths are going to impact our national politics greatly in the next few elections.
Studies have shown that a distinct feature of automatic registration increases the likelihood of better youth turnout at rallies and campaigns after realising that they now have the right to vote.
Most of these new voters will be in universities and colleges, where there will be a heightened interest in politics, leading them to be more attentive at political campaigns.
And of course, the politicians will be making a beeline to enter our higher education institutions to try and shape these minds.
Now that they have become part of the political system by getting onto the electoral list, young people will consider themselves as participants rather than outsiders, leading to political engagement.
All these are good as more people can help decide the direction the nation should take instead of leaving it to only a third of the population. With this automatic registration, more than half the nation will be able to vote.
However, the biggest challenge for all political parties will be how to shape the minds of these young entrants, who, among truthful news items, see lots of lies, racism and religious bigotry, many of which are figments of cyber troopers’ imagination.
Why, I wouldn’t be surprised if many of them are also on the payroll of political groups to spew these lies and hatred on social media.
The trust deficit between the rakyat and politicians at all levels has sunk to an all-time low, especially after the massive party-hopping, a result from the infamous Sheraton Move that saw key leaders from PH defecting shamelessly to the new Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition.
There was much outrage and disgust as the federal and four state PH governments fell, but of course, there was joy among a section of Malaysians who appeared to be celebrating the formation of the Malay-Muslim-majority PN government.
Obviously, the rallying call of Muafakat Nasional – the partnership between Umno and PAS – to unite in the name of race and religion worked on these people.
Since then, the dichotomy between the Malays and others has taken a dangerous turn, effectively splitting the nation.
So, no one knows what’s in the minds of these young would-be voters as they move to become decision-makers in the running of the nation.
Are the old guards going to continue teaching the old divisive brand of racial and religious politics to these young ones, just to cling on to power?
After all, most of them have shown that they have no qualms using the race and religion bait with blatant ease, quite shamelessly at times.
While everything appears to be hopeless for even the eternal optimists, many are wondering if Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman’s bold venture to start the multiracial Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) will help reshape the mindset of these youths, who will not only determine the future of Malaysia, but lead it.
Of course, it will be foolhardy to assume that Syed Saddiq’s Muda will be the panacea to all the nation’s political ills involving race and religion.
But shouldn’t we all look at it positively now that someone is defying all our damaging political norms of using these cards for racial and religious supremacy?
Critics are saying this move adds to the nation’s confusing mix of parties and alliances, but hey, anything for the betterment of our nation should be welcomed.
Or, can the existing youth wings of the various parties rise to the occasion and be sincere in their efforts to bring about a Malaysian Malaysia?
I would suggest that we all refer to ourselves as Malaysians first, for a start.
Wasn’t this the ultimate objective of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Vision 2020 launched 20 years ago to evolve a Bangsa Malaysia?
Unfortunately, he was among those who convoluted and muddied our politics, which has made this vision out of sight now.
For the sake of our kids and grandkids, and possibly great-grandchildren, who I hope will choose to remain home and endeavour to build a really new Malaysia that we call home, the old and openly corrupt old guards must give way to the younger generation.
Only then can the young ones start building a vibrant democracy. If they don’t, we have a duty to vote them out. – The Vibes, October 12, 2020
K. Parkaran is a veteran journalist who has worked for The Star and Al Jazeera International
