The Malaysian Insight

THE lowering of the voting age from 21 to 18, if passed in this ongoing Parliament sitting, will benefit Umno and PAS more than any other parties, said analysts.

This despite a potential addition of 1.5 million new young voters to the electoral roll, they said.

They believe the voter pattern for the next general election would not alter too much from the last polls, with most of Malay voters continuing to support Umno and PAS.

A survey by Ilham Centre showed that Barisan Nasional garnered 46% of Malay support while PAS enjoyed 35% in the May 2018 general election. Pakatan Harapan only enjoyed 17% of Malay support.

Universiti Sarawak Malaysia’s Jeniri Amir thinks this pattern will not change in the next general election.

He said younger voters have the tendency to be anti-establishment, and as such this would benefit opposition parties such as Umno and PAS.

“We can just hope that these young voters do not make political decisions based on what is being debated on social media.

“They have to be politically mature and not be influenced by social media, or by other sentiments. Parents need to play a role in nurturing the political maturity of these young voters,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Merdeka Centre director Ibrahim Suffian, meanwhile, said while it would be difficult to speculate the outcome of politics in the country with the lowering of voting age, he nevertheless admitted the advantage will be with Umno and PAS.

“If Umno and PAS can forge stronger unity, and if they ensure there is a straight fight with PH, then it would be advantageous to these two parties.

“The last general election showed that 75% of Malay voters supported them,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

However, he also warned that this scenario can quickly change along with the political changes in the country in the run-up to the next general election.

Youths, meanwhile, told The Malaysian Insight that the government’s decision to lower the voting age was the right thing to do as it gives them a chance to decide on the political future of the country.

“The marriageable age is 18, and by that age we are paying off loans and taxes to the government. 

“Why then the compromise on voting age?” asked a Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) undergraduate, 21-year-old Ahmad Rozaidi Abdul Malek.

He also said political studies must be introduced in schools so that youngsters have an early understanding on the Malaysian political system.

According to Zaqqim Imdad Ibrahim, 21, from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), 18 is the right age for youngsters to be involved in politics.

“At that age, youngsters have sufficient maturity to elect who they want to lead them. After all, at that age, they are allowed to get married and start a family.”

Putrajaya yesterday tabled an amendment bill to lower the voting age to 18.

The amendment was tabled by Sports and Youth Minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman at the end of the question-and-answer session.

The bill seeks “to amend Article 119(1)(a) of the federal constitution by substituting the words ‘twenty-one years old’ with ‘18 years old’.” – July 5, 2019.