WHEN results of the 15th General Election (GE15) in November 2022 began to trickle in with many surprises and upsets, I was on Twitter, seeing people blaming the Undi18 generation for the unexpected outcomes. Many took to social media to voice their thoughts about how the movement “failed”. Some were quick to label voters aged 18-20 as inexperienced, easily influenced, or not politically literate.
With six state elections coming up soon, and since this is the inaugural piece of the Youth Pulse column, I thought I would revisit this issue.
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Exercising their democratic right
A young voter during GE15. Some on social media were quick to label the 18-20 voter group as inexperienced, easily influenced or not politically literate. — AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star
Sisters Lee Jia Ying (left) and Lee Jia Yi voted for the first time in GE15. Due to readily available information online, youth can be more critical and sensitive to the issues prevailing around them, says the writer. — KT GOH/The Star
Youth voters voted in saluran (voting stream) One and Two, which were introduced in polling stations during GE15, but there is no saluran-level data available yet to see voting patterns in this age group. — MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star
A young voter casting her vote in GE15. Some netizens were quick to label voters aged 18-20 as inexperienced, easily influenced or not politically literate. — AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star
Democracy in action: Many young voters were excited to vote for the first time in GE15. (From left) Nur Sabrina with siblings Zahra Zurdi and Nur Amirah. — MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star
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