PETALING JAYA: The debut of young voters in the Johor state election is viewed as a challenge by political parties that see it as an indicator of voting patterns in the next general election.
DAP assistant political education officer Ong Kian Ming said in a statement that a tough battle is underway to garner the support of young voters who were added to the electoral roll following the automatic voter registration exercise.
Political analyst James Chin said it was too early to make any conclusion on the outcome of the polls as the percentage of young voters who would actually cast their votes on polling day was still uncertain.
The professor of Asian Studies at Tasmania University said young voters were being misread by many people, who assume that they would abandon the old mainstream traditional parties for the sake of change.
“My question is what percentage of young voters would favour the mainstream establishment parties because the so-called conventional wisdom is that young voters will go for Muda?
“We don’t even know how many of them will actually turn up to vote.
“It’s not certain that young people will only go for Muda, they might also support other traditional parties like DAP.
“My projection is that Barisan Nasional (BN) would win big, while the Opposition would secure very few seats,” he told theSun.
Echoing similar views as Chin, University Malaya Centre for Democracy and Elections Assoc Prof Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi said BN has the ability to attract first-time voters as they were still under the influence of their parents.
“The majority of such voters, particularly those aged 18 to 24, are influenced by their parents’ political inclinations. Only about 15 to 20% of them are out of this (category).
“Moreover, BN is the incumbent government and has much experience in the Johor state administration, which will add value to attract first-time and young voters.”
Awang Azman added that it would be advantageous for BN to persuade new voters to come out to cast their ballots if the coalition wants to fully exploit this propensity.
Political analyst Datuk Zainal Kling said BN would be able to keep its majority, owing to the party’s unity. He said at the same time, the coalition is also wooing the young to retain its hold on the state.
“The other parties need to run their campaigns more efficiently, either online or on the ground to win the ballots of young voters.”
National Council of Professors senior fellow Dr Jeniri Amir called on all competing parties to come up with policies to win the hearts of first-time voters as youngsters nowadays were more concerned about the economic situation, including job opportunities and income.
