Kota Kinabalu: Sabah has registered a total of 932,541 young voters aged between 18 and 39 to fulfil their responsibilities in the 15th General Election (GE15), according to the Sabah Youth Council (MBS).
Its President Abqaree Fawwaz Abekan said the number represents 55.2 per cent of the total of 1,689,387 voters in Sabah.
Based on the latest statistics released by the Election Commission (EC), he said Sabah recorded the fifth highest number of young voters in Malaysia.
This was based on MBS’s observation throughout the implementation of the political literacy programme (Vote-18) in six zones throughout Sabah this year.
“MBS estimates that 70 per cent of young voters in Sabah have a low level of political understanding in the context of historical knowledge, political parties and the importance of engaging in the democratic stage,” he said in a statement, Friday.
However, he said what was clear was that the youth in Sabah have the desire for their voices to be raised by their peer leaders to support their hopes at the national level.
He said MBS had high hopes that the composition of the Dewan Rakyat after GE15 will feature at least 50 to 60 per cent of parliamentarians from among the young.
“This will encourage the participation of generation Y and Z directly into the national democratic stage,” said Abqaree.
This would, at the same time, take into account the sentiments of young voters in Sabah who were hungry for economic development, infrastructure and a better standard of living as in the peninsula.
“For this, MBS hopes that the competing political parties can offer inclusive, realistic and effective development policies after forming a government at the federal level,” said Abqaree.
MBS also called on all young voters in Sabah to choose leaders based on fair and impartial considerations and not be influenced solely by sentiments that were often played on the political stage in every election.
This was in line with the call by the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, who strongly condemned the widespread corruption in the country.
“MBS urges young voters throughout Sabah to reject candidates known to be involved in corruption,” he advised.
This call coincides with a youth campaign at the national level that was mobilised by the Malaysian Youth Council (MBM), Belia Rasuah Busters, he said.
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