GE15: What does youth want?

SHAH ALAM - We have always heard that youth will be the ones who lead the future of Malaysia and have a high possibility of being the leader of the nation.

Since they grow in a different generation from the current Malaysian leaders, they might have different and better ideas in order to bring up the economic and patriarchal values in the country.

Regardless of their young ages, Malaysian youths were eventually flooded with ideas related to the upcoming 15th General Election (GE15).

People from all walks of life shared their perspectives but it was crucial to pay attention to what the young people wanted to give them a better future.

An 18-year-old student, Tayanaa Logenthiran told The Star she believed the opinions of the public were crucial in making decisions in Malaysia as it’s a democratic country.

“I would vote for the party whose members are open to new ideas from the people.

“Of course, without a doubt, I would choose a party I deem the least corrupt based on their previous appearances.

“Apart from that, as a student myself I hope the GE15 would also address the issues circulating in Malaysia’s education system,” she said.

Tayanaa hoped the government would invest more in the school facilities and believed by reducing paperwork on the teachers, they would be able to focus more on teaching and allow students to gain more.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, many people were affected and many of them lost their source of income.

Even now, when we have almost reached the endemic phase, some of them still have a hard time putting food on their table and this has become a concern to an accountancy graduate, Vasunthra Reddy.

She believed the pandemic crisis had caused a low number of job opportunities here in Malaysia.

“The rise of unemployment due to the Covid-19 pandemic and hike in living costs while wages remain stagnant is worrying.

“Nowadays, many companies are on a hiring freeze and due to such policies implemented in certain companies, despite being qualified, many job-seekers are forced to settle for lower positions.

She added with the current situation, worst case scenario, these people won’t even land a job.

Apart from that, she strongly believed that even companies had also taken action in suppressing wages to keep up with the rising costs of raw materials.

As a result, Malaysians were struggling with wages and the high cost of living in the country.

Peeking at the perspective of living in a multiracial country, the youths believed that our political parties also must consist of other races too.

Hence, we shouldn’t neglect the importance of a sense of patriotism as well.

An undergraduate W.W. Lee said he hoped that multiracial candidates in the upcoming GE15 would have a sense of patriotism and belonging that binds people together.

“Political candidates must fan the concept of good inter-ethnic relations to continue the social contract adopted since the nation’s independence.

“It is crucial that the younger generation are not influenced by the narrow racial agenda which could undermine the values of patriotic social acceptance that could threaten to destabilise the nation’s social fabric, political and economic segments,” he said.

He added that the youth favoured political candidates who speak for everyone, not those who would incite conflicts.

Moreover, political transparency must be implied and promised to the citizens and voters.

“We want politicians to be as open-minded and tolerant as possible that allows people to express one’s ideals in a way in which someone who disagrees, can completely understand and not avoid the discussion altogether,” he added.

As the Election Commission predicted after the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18, a 50 percent inclination was shown in voters this time around compared to GE14.

Plus, with more young and new voters coming in, political parties also could be seen placing more younger candidates in order to gain more young voters rooting for their party.

Nevertheless, of course, it all depends on the party itself whether they could present what the youth wants or turn their hopes down and lose the battle.