JOHOR BARU, March 11 — Excited to be part of history tomorrow, Raja Muhammad Haiqal Raja Jaafar, 20, plans to arrive early at the polling centre in Pasir Gudang to vote for the very first time.
The Johor state election has provided that opportunity for this young man, who is currently in the final year of his diploma studies in secretarial and administration and will be part of 173,177 voters aged 18 to 20 eligible to vote this time around.
Raja Muhammad Haiqal will be voting at SMK Permas Jaya 3, Permas to elect the next assemblyman for the Permas constituency.
“Although I don’t fully follow political developments, I am still feeling nervous as this concerns not just our (younger generation) future but society as a whole.
“But with my parents guidance on how to go about the voting process as well as with my own research, Inshallah the candidate I choose will be the one who is people-friendly and will be there in times of need,” he told Bernama.
Nursyazlin Najiha Karyadi, meanwhile, said that she had been busy checking the background of the candidates in her constituency for fear of making the wrong choice.
The 20-year-old, who will be voting in the Kempas constituency, said she wants to make her own decision as to whom she wants to vote for, instead of being influenced by her parents or older relatives.
“We all have different needs and goals, so why listen to others. The most important thing for us (young voters) is that we want an elected representative who is approachable and who is working all the time and not just during elections,” he said.
Of the total number of young voters eligible to vote in the 56 seats up for grabs, Puteri Wangsa has the highest number from that group with 11,157 voters, followed by Kota Iskandar (10,941), Tiram (10,613), Permas (8,994), Perling (7,859), Johor Jaya (6,446) and Skudai (5,949).
The voting age for Malaysians had been lowered from 21 to 18 after the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019 was passed by the Dewan Rakyat on July 16, 2019, and by the Senate on July 25 the same year. — Bernama
