KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 — A young Chinese individual may know about the latest political controversy, follow debates on social media or have strong views about the rising cost of living.
Yet, he or she could still be unsure which government agency is responsible for addressing a problem in their neighbourhood, or how politics fit into everyday life application.
That gap between following politics and understanding how the system works emerged as one of the findings in a recently published IMAN Research study on Malaysian Chinese youths.
The interviews found that participants often associated national politics with elections, scandals, party manoeuvring and disputes over race and religion.
When discussing issues closer to home, such as housing, education, wages and local services, however, they were often more specific about what was going wrong and what they wanted changed.
The question — is whether young people know how these everyday concerns connect to public institutions, who makes the decisions and where they can turn to have their voices heard.
The report, Kami Orang Sini Juga: Chinese Youths and Democratic Belonging — The Politics of Pragmatism and Fairness, is based on interviews with 116 Malaysian Chinese youths aged between 18 and 35 across Peninsular Malaysia.
Civic education that does not stick
One of the report’s findings was that the 116 participants vaguely recall what they had learnt through the former Pendidikan Sivik dan Kewarganegaraan subject or how it had shaped their understanding of politics as adults.
Some remembered civic lessons being replaced by subjects considered more important.
One participant said civic and political education should go beyond memorising Malaysia’s constitutional monarchy or the structure of Parliament.
“We should be learning about how the democratic system works from a young age,” the participant said, adding that students should understand what voting and representation mean and why they matter.
The researchers stressed that exposure to political events was not the same as having the knowledge to interpret them.
Participants could know that a controversy had taken place or feel strongly about an issue without understanding which institution was responsible, what powers an elected representative held or what action citizens could realistically take.
Who shapes their political understanding?
The report introduces what it calls the “First-to-Door” model to explain how young people develop their understanding of politics.
It describes how the first trusted source that makes politics meaningful or understandable can shape how a person interprets information encountered later.
The “first” source does not necessarily mean the earliest one encountered.
Rather, it refers to the person, platform or experience that first provides a convincing framework for understanding political events.
For some participants, that source was family.
The researchers found that political understanding could be shaped by parents who discussed elections, government policies and experiences of exclusion.
However, family influence could also operate through silence.
One participant who voted for the first time recalled being unsure about which party logo to select, despite knowing that voting was expected of her.
She said her family did not discuss politics at home.
Social media was another important source of political information, although participants did not necessarily consume the same discussions.
The report found that language influenced which political conversations reached them, with some participants deliberately following both Chinese- and Malay-language media to avoid missing discussions taking place in different public spheres.
One interviewee said: “If I only consumed Chinese-language media, I would miss entire waves of discourse happening in the Malay public sphere.”
The researchers cautioned, however, that consuming news in multiple languages did not automatically mean someone had a stronger understanding of politics.
Some participants read only headlines, while others compared different commentators and perspectives before forming their own views.
Knowing politics is not the same as being involved
The report also distinguishes between political knowledge and political proximity.
Political knowledge refers to understanding how institutions work, the responsibilities of different office-holders and public issues.
Political proximity, meanwhile, refers to how directly someone encounters political work, actors and decision-making — through activities such as community organising, campaigning, party work or regular contact with elected representatives.
The researchers used a matrix to illustrate how these two dimensions can overlap without necessarily developing together.
For example, someone may become involved in a political party or be invited to assist a representative without fully understanding how government institutions work.
Another person may follow political developments closely and understand public policy, but remain outside political organisations or direct political activity.
The report stressed that the matrix was exploratory, with its four positions illustrating possible combinations rather than fixed categories of Malaysian Chinese youths.
It also found that involvement in political organisations could provide participants with networks, procedural knowledge and confidence, but did not automatically produce independent political judgement.
Similarly, contact with elected representatives could help participants understand how to raise complaints or seek assistance, although it might not necessarily teach them which government agency was responsible for a particular issue.
Making civic participation practical
The researchers recommended strengthening civic education by moving beyond lessons on government structures and electoral procedures towards practical political and media literacy.
Students should be given opportunities to engage with local institutions, conduct community research, understand how public decisions are made and interact with people outside their immediate social circles.
One programme that others could exemplify is by Pay Fong Middle School in Melaka.
The school programme includes visits to local heritage sites, documenting historical places and interviewing residents from different ethnic backgrounds.
The researchers also recommended that state and local authorities establish neighbourhood advisory bodies and support youth-led community projects.
Their broader discussion is that young people should encounter democratic participation as part of everyday life, rather than something limited to voting during elections.
The report noted that practical opportunities to understand and engage with institutions could help young people distinguish political arguments from the processes through which public decisions are made.
