KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Umno divisions and branches have been ordered to immediately identify and engage with 18-year-olds who have been automatically registered as voters.
It is important to approach these new voters as they will play a crucial role in the next general and state elections, said Sabah Umno chairman Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin.
“We need to pay attention to this group of young people who are an important and critical segment of voters that determines winners during an election,” he said in a statement that was issued yesterday after he chaired a Sabah Umno liaison committee meeting here.
Bung Moktar said that youths aged 18 to 20 made up 6.9 million or 16% of new voters and they had a role in swinging the support for parties during the just-concluded six state elections in Peninsular Malaysia.
These young voters, he said, were mostly influenced by social media campaigns.
“They are easily influenced by populist campaigns, therefore there is a need for Umno to intensify the campaign to get close to these young voters to help them understand political trends and situations in the country,” he added.
Many of these young voters are not tied to any political party, unlike older voters, he also said.
“It is important that we give them clear and accurate information about the party’s policies and struggles as well as government programmes meant to improve their economic status.
“When the party approaches these young people, it gives them an impetus to work together in Umno’s struggle,” he said, adding that the party’s Youth and Puteri wings must also play a role to win the support of new voters.
Bung Moktar, who thanked the Sabah Barisan Nasional machinery that had mainly campaigned in the Selangor polls, said the declining support for Barisan should spur them to take action to strengthen the party.
Everyone in the party must take responsibility and not blame Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi or call for his resignation, he added.
He said Sabah Umno will continue to support the party president because “we see the decline in support due to many factors”.
An in-depth post-mortem should be done to fix all weaknesses he said, adding that this responsibility should be shouldered by all party leaders at the national, state, division and branch levels.
