Undi 18 di Malaysia: Pasca Pelaksanaan dan Cabaran Berterusan

Abstract

Most countries in the world have already allowed their 18-year-old citizens to vote in the country’s general elections; however, there are also countries that allow citizens as young as 16 to vote. The readiness of young voters is an issue highlighted by many researchers through post-implementation analysis of UNDI18 in Malaysia. This is due to the involvement of young voters which affects the legitimacy of the newly formed government. Additionally, existing research narratives focus on context from a specific demographic point of view or the analysis of topical issues in general. The objective of writing this article is to analyze the implementation of ‘UNDI18’ as well as the challenges and post-challenges faced by young voters in this country presented by previous researchers and provide new findings in the aspects discussed by the Parliament of Malaysia. This qualitative study highlights the ‘desktop research’ strategy with thematic, narrative and descriptive analysis. This article presents three main syntheses on ‘UNDI18’ and the legitimacy of the government formed through the themes generated from the content analysis. The article also discovered that social elements shape the difficulties faced by young voters in this nation, with external factors taking the lead. The article concluded that we need to develop a strategic policy that educates young voters on political and democratic issues, empowering them to make more persuasive decisions. This also entails the government’s obligation to address the issue of political education or elections for young people, and to identify specific departments or agencies that are responsible for this task.