YOURSAY | ‘Voters are sick and tired of Malaysian politics.’

Think tank: Despite Harapan win in KKB, younger voters prefer PN

Bswalks: Young people tend to be anti-establishment. When Pakatan Harapan and the “democratic groups” first pushed to lower the voting age, they were in the opposition, so that seemed a good idea at the time.

When they became the establishment, the die was cast and it became law.

There is no denying that the bulk of young voters are fed up with the incompetence, cronyism, and corruption of previous BN governments.

However, they are wary of DAP’s merit-based system. Paradoxically, there is no fairness or justice in a merit-based system.

Golf, bowling, and certain sports have their own handicap systems. Even families treat their young according to their ability.

Hence, PAS appears to be the logical option, passing the responsibility of governing to a party governed by religious principles. Is this such a terrifying notion?

Many of the young people, including a 69-year-old non-Malay like me, do not believe the narrative that PAS will “Talibanise” the country.

Our established institutions will not stand for it. PAS members themselves will be divided.

Myviews: Bswalks, I daresay your analysis is incorrect. Lowering the voting age to 18 is the biggest mistake of any government be it Harapan, Perikatan Nasional, or BN.

These young voters can be easily swayed and it has a lot to do with the flawed education policies in the country.

In order for youths to vote upon reaching the age of 18, they must have at least gone through a system of education where they can do critical thinking.

But the education system in this country is not geared for that. The emphasis is on religion and the afterlife; not on the merits of right and wrong.

The youths have developed a crutch and dependency mentality. They can be easily swayed, especially when parties play the 3R cards.

At the 16th general election, we will surely see PN winning hands down as the youths are mostly from the majority race.

P Dev Anand Pillai: What we need to understand is the lack of historical knowledge among the young.

Most of our young people tend to believe whatever is stated on social media and all the applications, reels, and videos.

When they are jobless and have to struggle with their finances and the daily rigours of life, they will vote for those who blame the government for all their woes.

When that party wins and forms a government and their lives have not improved, they will blame the new government and vote for those who blame the government again. So it is a cycle.

What we need to see is competent and able leaders from the best and the brightest being allowed to lead.

We need to get out of the quagmire of race and religion if we are to remain competitive. That can only happen if we begin to seek knowledge.

GrayParrot9290: All these statistics are history now. Kuala Kubu Baharu is a small constituency and does not reflect the national sentiment.

What matters now is what Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and the coalition government will do in the next three years to get back the trust of the people, especially the non-Malays.

Anwar has so far failed miserably and does not deserve the chance to stay in power. The people will decide in the next general election.

Milshah: This analysis by Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE) makes sense. Kuala Kubu Baharu is semi-urban. I would say most young Malays from rural to semi-urban areas are pro-PN.

It may not be trouble for DAP, as most of their seats are urban seats. However, it will spell trouble for Umno, whose seats are rural and semi-urban, targeting Malay voters.

If IDE’s findings are correct, Umno’s loss or wipeout in the next general election seems to be on track.

MyMY: Perhaps Harapan should have better and more exciting narratives posted on TikTok.

They also have to educate our young ones better about their responsibilities and the power of their votes.

Schools need to do more to make them think outside the box and have a mind of their own.

Undecided: I guess the government achieved all their objectives.

The increase in Malay and Indian votes and support from the Chinese voters despite all the unhappiness over the pace of reforms and Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh’s divisive antics.

Just shows the approval of M40 and B40 voters are the ones that count if maintaining power is the objective.

Libra: Never mind the post-election analyses. Let us look at the reality on the ground. It was a Malay gentleman, PN’s Khairul Azhari Saut; and a Chinese lady Harapan’s Pang Sock Tao who were contesting and the Chinese lady won.

So the Malays were not all for the Malay candidate. Some people living in their own world don’t know there is a huge disparity in wealth among Malays.

So don’t keep feeding the have-nots in the community all the time. It is better to teach them how to fish.

Because there will be more have-nots in the future, and they will not see things through the race and religion lens.

Race and religion are issues brought up by those chasing power.

Salvage Malaysia: I don’t think the problem lies in the awareness of voting. Voters are probably sick and tired of Malaysian politics.

They probably feel their votes won’t make any difference whether the state seat went to Harapan or PN.

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