Wednesday, April 4, 2012

WAYS TO GET YOUTHS TO VOTE
-Letter by Ravindran Raman Kutty, Kuala Lumpur | letters@nst.com.my
election ballot thumb The PEOPLEs Digest ~ On Getting Malaysian Youth To Want To Vote

I am not surprised to read that 50 per cent of the young people eligible to register as voters, according to the poll done by Merdeka Centre and National Institute of Electoral Integrity (NIEI), are not interested in doing so ("50 per cent of young not keen on voting" -- NST, March 31).
As a communications practitioner, I feel that the young people's reaction is in line with their thoughts and priorities. The young today are certainly different.

They are not into bread-and-butter issues. Their key concerns are fashion, mobile phones, iPhones, new software  applications and how to spend their free time with their friends.

Most of their bread-and-butter issues are handled by their  parents. The child only goes to school or college and attends tuition, music  and self-defence classes. The child graduates and begins work, where his priorities are not about which party will come to power, or who rules.

He or she is only keen in knowing what's new in town, entertainment, fashion or mobile phone applications, cars or motorcycles.

This is the new trend. It's pretty difficult to get the young to become members of any voluntary organisation.
KD: Voting is a responsibility and an action that every member of society must partake in. 
Universiti Sains Malaysia’s social sciences senior lecturer, Dr Azeem Fazwan Ahmad Farouk said, a majority of Malaysian youth are not into politics. They do not feel the need to vote as they feel there are other important things in life. Maybe if the registration process was made easier it might attract them to vote.

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