The Impacts of Undi 18 on Political Participation, Awareness and Readiness : A case of Kuching, Sarikei and Sri Aman

Audrey Low, Siang Ling and Arnold, Puyok (2024) The Impacts of Undi 18 on Political Participation, Awareness and Readiness : A case of Kuching, Sarikei and Sri Aman. Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (MJSSH), 9 (2). pp. 1-17. ISSN 2504-8562

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Abstract

On December 15, 2021, the implementation of Undi18 took place, and an estimated 5.8 million new voters aged 18 and older were added as a result. The policy has elicited numerous responses. Some believe it is timely because it will introduce young people to civic responsibility and allow them to participate more actively in the country's political process. Opponents argue that 18-year-olds are too immature to vote and permitting young people to vote without first providing them with political education is problematic because it could have a negative impact on the content of their votes. Numerous studies indicate that young Malaysians' political awareness remains low, with the political socialization domain among the youth remaining at only 29.03%, and a significant number of voters aged 21 and older have not enrolled to vote due to a lack of interest. As a result, the objectives of this study are assessing the youth’s awareness and readiness towards Undi 18, examine the extend of youth’s political participation, and analyses the political socialization agents that influence the awareness and readiness of youth in politics. It also sought to determine if there are differences in the level of awareness, readiness, and extent of youth political participation across geographic regions in Sarawak; Kuching, Sarikei and Sri Aman. These three areas were chosen due to underrepresented findings from Sarawak and most of the surveys were done in the urban area of Sarawak and the Peninsular. Purposive sampling and stratified sampling techniques were used to survey 585 first-time voters aged 18 to 20 years via questionnaire, and 30 respondents in the same age category were chosen for the focus group discussion. Cronbach alpha was anticipated to ensure the reliability of the questionnaire. The Cronbach value for the questionnaire's awareness and readiness sections was 0.93 and 0.88, respectively. The findings found that respondents have high awareness and readiness towards their voting rights, but not prepared to participate beyond as a voter. Parental involvement, political experience, social media exposure, educational exposure and relationship with the politicians are factors that influenced the respondents’ participation, awareness and readiness in politics, especially in Undi 18. The study also provides a glimpse of youth perspectives on Undi 18 and a recommendation to increase youth political engagement.

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