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(Part 2) GE15: Was the ‘Green Wave’ powered by young voters? | Kini News Lab | Malaysiakini
(newslab.malaysiakini.com)
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this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2023
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3/4 (oops) Subhead: What makes PN so appealing to younger voters? Political analyst Azmi Hassan from the Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research said PN’s positioning as the relative new kid on the block is an attractive proposition for fresh voters.
"PN represents something new and has become the norm for the younger generation, as they prefer to explore new options offered by PN," he explained.
This trend of young voters being willing to take risks is not unique to Malaysia but has been observed in many other countries, including Singapore during its recent general election, he said.
"This is considered the primary attraction for young voters who are inclined to try something new and are less interested in the historical background of BN, unlike older voters."
Awang Azman Awang Pawi, an analyst from the Universiti of Malaya, also noted how the PN campaign was more aggressive and covered a wide range of issues, while BN was more defensive.
"The PN campaign also aimed to attract a diverse range of voters, while BN primarily focused on appealing to their core supporters."
As young voters were unaffiliated to any party, they were more easily swayed by PN’s campaign messaging, he said.
For example, PN marketed itself as ‘clean’ and ‘new’, even though the leaders have been in the political game for decades, some under different parties.
"When labelled with the slogan 'Bersih' (clean), it captures the attention of young voters.” Subhead: Less advantage to PN in state elections compared to GE15 Going forward, Azmi believes young voters will continue to be an advantage for PN in the state polls, but they will not be as valuable as in GE15.
For example, young voters may now question the ‘clean’ image which PN campaigned on, after a number of Bersatu leaders were charged in the Jana Wibawa corruption cases.
Potentially low turnout, particularly among young voters, could also hurt PN’s chances, he said. In researching sources of information by younger voters during GE15, Iman Research in a recent study singled out PN as the only coalition which jumped onto TikTok, the social media platform which caters mostly to those aged 30 and under, to successfully reach first-time voters.
At her Islamic university, Pahang voter Raja said, most students chose PN when they were asked to anonymously share who they voted for, by pasting stickers on notice boards on campus.
She attributes some of this to PN’s energetic campaign on TikTok, especially its use of influencers in reaching out to otherwise apathetic or uninformed first-time voters. [tiktok of popular young preacher Syahir Norhisham, sharing why he is voting for PAS, has been used as a voiceover in many other TikTok videos of young people declaring their support for PN.]
4/4 Subhead: Cultivating a community presence PN’s campaign may be beyond anti-BN sentiments. In fact, the campaign - online and offline - may have been tapping into a market which PAS has long been cultivating.
In a study on PAS’ unshakeable hold on Kelantan, USM analyst Azmil Tayeb said the party’s strength lies in its long-entrenched position in the community, its well-organised machinery, and extensive political education and outreach efforts.
Apart from conveying their messages through mosques, PAS grassroots activists contribute in a network of ‘penghulu seranta’, acting as residential area ambassadors to assemble townhall meetings, listen to grievances and share PAS’ agenda, Azmil found.
Additionally, PAS has organised various community events, including e-sports tournaments and the establishment of an “Alternative Riding Club” (ARC). These initiatives effectively allow PAS to interact with new and first-time voters in a relatable manner.
Some of these ARC convoys, featuring large cohorts of motorcyclists carrying PN or PAS flags, have featured widely in TikTok campaigns, reaching thousands of young voters.
On TikTok, PN supporters’ convoy videos are often used as campaign material.
PAS also extends its influence through Islamic education, seeding what some political watchers call ‘Generation PAS’. Incepted in the 1980s, there are now close to 2,500 PAS pre-schools, providing affordable early childhood education to more than 125,000 students aged four to six years old.
The party has also established close to 150 primary schools and seven secondary schools nationwide, to provide alternative education anchored on Islamic teaching.
In GE15…I chose according to candidate, not party. I followed the campaign via social media, on Facebook and TikTok.
This state election, I am still undecided. I need to discuss this with my family. I think PN will win because (the incumbent MB) Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor is young at heart and young people like him.
But not all are convinced that Islamic education has influenced the voting patterns of a generation of Malaysians, and affected the outcome of GE15.
Academic and former DAP MP Ong Kian Ming said Islamic residential schools (tahfiz) make up just one percent of six million primary and secondary school enrolments, and attributing this to PN’s success in courting young voters is “to compound one analytical mistake on top of another”.
In fact, he said, analysing the PN inroads as a “Green Wave” perpetuates Islamophobic narratives, while ignoring the diversity among Malay voters and the significant gains Bersatu made in 2018. This was the momentum PN had built on, he argued.
“The electoral landscape has become much more competitive and electoral outcomes will depend on many factors. In short, religion is an important but not determinative voting issue,” Ong wrote in a recent analysis.
Similarly, former BN MP Khairy Jamaluddin in a separate commentary said the shift of support to PN was driven by Malay economic discontent, going “beyond the 3R (race, religion, royalty) issues”. I will vote for Umno/BN, following my family. But if the candidate is from Harapan, I will not vote for them. So I am still open to PN.
Actually, I am not that interested in political developments. My friends are the same. Many of them voted for PN because they feel this is the best option for Muslims. Subhead: Balancing this world and the next ‘Generation PAS’ or not, in Gombak, Fahmi is yet again gearing up to vote for PN in the Selangor state election, but his mother, Jailah Abdul, hopes he will change his mind. Jailah has never voted for anyone but Umno/BN. “BN, especially Umno, has fought for the rights of Malays and has contributed greatly to this nation, including founding this village which we live in, Kampung Wira Damai,” the 68-year-old said.
But in PN, Fahmi sees a middle ground - a balance between his religious obligations and desires for a modern, developed nation.
“I believe in PN because they have both religious leaders and professionals, which means religion can work hand in hand with the modern world.