SIBU, Jan 7 ― Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) will draw up strategies and work harder in the next few months to get closer to young people who will be voting for the first time in the 15th general election (GE15), said PBB vice-president Dr Annuar Rapaee.

He said the enforcement of Undi18 called for a different approach by political parties as new voters aged 18 and above needed to be engaged more frequently and consistently compared to the older group.

"However, it is not difficult to convince them of our plans because they are actually very receptive to what is happening around them,” he said at a Media Appreciation Night dinner here last night.

A federal government gazette dated December 1, 2021 stated that the automatic registration of voters aged 18 and above came into force on December 15 the same year.

Dr Annuar, a three-term Nangka state assemblyman, was thankful for retaining the seat in the recent Sarawak state election with a majority of more than 10,000 votes.

"The recent election was very different because it was not easy to meet voters in person due to the tight SOP (standard operating procedure) in place. For PBB, our strength had been house-to-house campaigns, so the SOP made it difficult for us to tell them of our plans.

"Although we had online campaigning, we did not know its effectiveness as not everyone had internet access,” he added.

He also thanked the media for giving comprehensive, accurate and fair coverage on the recent state election. ― Bernama