KUCHING: The proposal to lower the legal age of voting to 18 in Malaysia should not only be based on legal consideration, says a chief political aide to the chief minister.
As such, a thorough and comprehensive study must also be conducted to ascertain the level of political consciousness and socioeconomic awareness among youths, said Abdullah Saidol.
Abdullah, who is also Corporate Affairs Assistant Minister, also noted that Malaysia and Singapore were among the 10 Asean countries that only allowed citizens aged 21 and above to vote.
“Most Malaysians between the age of 18 and 21 are either still studying in school or tertiary education.
“In principle, while I do agree that giving our younger generation empowerment to be involved in the structuring of our nation, fate and direction is a progressive idea and therefore, it must be done not out of political interest or agenda,” he said.
“I’m not trying to question those at the age of 18 their level of maturity when some of us adults are also behaving childishly even in Parliament,” he told New Sarawak Tribune yesterday in response to the proposed amendment to lower the voting age to 18, expected to be tabled in Parliament today.
He then questioned: “How much do citizens at that young age understand our nation’s history and sociocultural evolution?”
“I have seen some youths taking group photos displaying an upside down of our national flag and some couldn’t even recite the Rukun Negara (the national principles of Malaysia) accurately.”
He said the current lawmakers, especially from Pakatan Harapan (PH), must not be reckless in their efforts to impress the people about their so-called “Malaysia Baru”.
“Malaysians should by now seriously take note of PH’s unfulfilled promises and all the U-turns in their various national policies.
“Our economy as a whole is going downwards and everything looks haywire, due to some minister’s “mouth faster than brain” statement,” Abdullah said.
“Tun M (Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad) is the prime minister of our nation, who is an experienced politician and national leader. He must first shape up his Cabinet members.
“For goodness sake, concentrate on your job in handling and managing this country with love and care,” he said.
