SHAH ALAM – Youths who are now automatically registered as voters have expressed eagerness to exercise their rights to vote in the 15th General Election (GE15).
Some have already familiarised themselves with the background of the candidate contesting in their respective constituency.
First-time voter Wan Khairun Sofea Wan Khairul Anuar, 18, who will be voting in Alor Gajah said it was a long journey to get the Undi18 Bill to be passed in Parliament and youths should use this opportunity to exercise the rights granted to them in order to see the country prosper.
Commenting on the candidates at her constituency, she said it was going to be a tough fight as some of the candidates have their own charm.
"I believe that Alor Gajah is a hot seat because currently the fight is between Shahril Hamdan (Umno information chief) and Adly Zahari.
"It would be a tough fight between those two since Adly is the former Melaka chief minister while Shahril is quite popular among the youths,” she told Sinar Daily.
Farish Afrezal Fairus Azmiha, a student, 18, said it was important for youths to vote so that the right leader could be chosen to lead the country.
"It is our responsibility as a Malaysian because we will choose who will be our leader to make Malaysia better one day,” he said.
However, when asked about his peers’ reaction towards voting, he revealed that some of them were not as excited about it.
"Some of them are really eager to be first-time voters, but what was disappointing was that they don’t have enough education or knowledge about politics in Malaysia.
"We’ve passed the law, we’ve made Undi18 happen, but we don’t have the proper knowledge or proper education on politics,” he said.
Another student, Mohamad Luqman Mohamad Shukry ,18, said youths’ opinion matters on which leaders should govern the country.
He called on youths to go out and vote as it was important for the sake of the country.
"I am planning to vote because it is for the sake of our country, and now that 18-years-olds can vote, our opinions matter on how we choose our leaders.
‘It is necessary for us to vote for the sake of the democracy of our country,” Luqman said.
Although he was aware of the importance of voting, he said some of his peers’ were not looking forward to it.
This, he said was mostly due to the fact that they had only little knowledge on politics in the country.
"I think that some of my peers, especially the ones that have family members with political backgrounds are excited, but as for the rest of them who don’t know anything about political matters in our country, they are not looking forward to it, which is kind of sad.”