The results of Malaysia's 15th General Election (GE15) has reached a political stalemate as no coalition manage to gain enough seat to form a government as even the leading party, Pakatan Harapan (PH), only manage to gain 82 seats in this election.
According to Says, many Malaysians now believe the bill was a mistake despite appearing to support the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019, which reduced the voting age in federal and state elections from 21 to 18 years old.
The heated argument sparked when one Twitter user blamed Undi18 for the results of this election.
The call for Undi 18 to be retracted was voiced by Twitter user @zymzrf, stating, Malaysians are doomed by it as they haven’t been taught things at school.
According to Says, some Malaysians believed that 18-years-old voters were unprepared to vote in GE15, citing the fact that this new generation of voters hadn't been educated enough about politics to cast ballots.
A 19-years-old Twitter user @ItsmeFisa stated, youth around her age does not care about politics and when asked about it, the common reply she received was, just vote either way.
The Twitter user stated her frustration over such a callous remark as she spend her time doing research online and all over social media platforms to learn more about politics as she wished for a better future for our nation.
Other users also stated that Undi18 was a mistake, citing Nurul Izzah's defeat as an example.
“So many of the “rempit” support PN due to the competing candidates, Ustaz Fawwaz vs Nurul Izzah. Playing on religion and race sentiment really works on them.
However, all was not lost for Undi18 as Twitter user @khairul_hafidz stated, this is something that many have asked to implement, and Malaysian has chosen.
The comments were also supported by @shaik_ir, stating we need to embrace healthy democracy.
However, @shaik_ir also stated, there is a need to address the lack of political literacy among youth.
“There many youths lack awareness on issues regarding the economic, administrative and government policies.
Instagram user @afiq.nazran also shared in Ig's story, calling out the unfairness to blame young voters' ignorance for GE15 results.
“What’s the relation between undi18 and the current political climate? Don’t all citizens votes? Why don’t blame all citizens for your party losing the election?"
Some also voice out for the AUKU ( University and College University Act 1974) to be repelled, stating it exposed university students to the working of politics by having the freedom in practicing politics.
Says also stated, a Twitter user, @najihahshahrel stated, healthy democracy can be taught to the younger generation through Undi 18, saying it gave them the opportunity to learn something new over the next five years.
“Time to be open-minded and accept the result," she said.
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