Youth in Asia are becoming braver in going against systems that uplift discrimination and violence as portrayed in their respective countries such as Thailand, Hong Kong, and Myanmar. This phenomenon is also seen in Malaysia where recently a group of young people, aged 18 to 20 years of age sued the “backdoor” government for postponing Undi18—a bill that was presented in 2019 to lower the voting age to 18-years-old—following the announcement of Malaysia’s current state of emergency to help flatten the Covid-19 curve. Due to this, a large number of young people will not be able to participate in the general election this year, scheduled to be held after the state of emergency is lifted in August.
The pandemic has put a limit on youth activism—often engaged in to call out the corruption in the country that justifies voter suppression on young people, the practices of double standards, and the chaos of Malaysia’s political arena—where the only constant access to their movement is through online platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The restrictions have instead empowered the youth movement, as young people receive support from the public across the country.
The lawsuit in Malaysia demonstrates how the development of technology has contributed to opening the eyes of today’s generation, prompting youth to look deeper into the political manipulation that has been endorsed regionally for decades. They have decided that this has to end now. But how can young activists achieve this objective if the government, whose purpose is to serve the people, is constantly trying to seal their mouths?
Voter suppression is a violation of human rights as stated by article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives … The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
Not allowing the youth to decide their futures, and their voices often being dismissed, shows how the young are discriminated against in the country. The frustration is what fueled them to sue the government on 2 April 2021.
On 29 March, it was reported that around 11 protestors, mainly consisting of the members of political parties including Malaysian United Democratic Alliances (MUDA), Democratic Action Party (DAP), National Trust Party (AMANAH), and Malaysian Socialist Party (PSM), among many others, were called to meet with police at Dang Wangi station for breaching Covid-19 safety protocols while protesting in front of parliament for the delay of Undi18 on 27 March 2021.
Many believed that the move was made just to intimidate the youth, because, in contrast, the ministers and big corporations have done a lot more that contributed to the rising number of Covid-19 cases, but no solid actions were taken to hold them accountable. These instances included the Sabah state election last year that led to a massive spike in Covid cases, and Top Glove, a big corporation, that continued its usual business operations without the adequate adherence to Covid restrictions and punished employees that tried to report the company.
MALAYSIA & ITS HISTORY WITH CORRUPTION
Voter suppression is not just a foreign method that distant politicians use to keep themselves secure in a position when their roles are threatened. Although the United States claimed different reasons than Malaysia as to why it suppressed young people’s voting rights—the US in its case viewed young people as those who need to be cared for, and not as independent individuals—both actions can be described as voter suppression.
In the US, youth historically were not given the right to vote until the introduction of the 26th Amendment in 1971, which prohibited the government from prohibiting voting rights on the basis of one’s age once a person reached age 18. The slogan used to promote the youth voting rights movement was “Old enough to fight, old enough to vote” to show that those 18-years-old are mature enough to have a say in the country’s future if they can fight in the country’s wars.
It is no surprise to see the same incident happening in Malaysia, where politicians denied young people of their right to vote, deeming them immature, out of politicians’ fears they will be voted out. This was seen during the 2018 General Election where the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government credited the youth with being one of the biggest factors in its win against the corrupted Barisan Nasional government—especially the former premier, Najib Razak, who was involved in the 1MDB scandal. Moreover, another former prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, had his way of silencing his opponents by detaining them under the Internal Security Act (ISA)—including opposition politicians, NGO activists, students, media reporters, artists, and others—as the government alleged that these groups supposedly contributed to the racial tensions in the country 34 years ago.
On April 16, #KerajaanGagal (“Failed Government”) trended on Twitter as Malaysians, mainly youth, expressed their anger and frustration over the government’s poor performance in governing the country as the Covid-19 situation continues to worsen along with its economy. This is because many are tired of the four-digit daily cases reported since October last year due to the government’s incompetence. The restrictions imposed limit the ability for citizens to go on with their daily lives and those who are not able to comply due to their inevitable circumstances are punished.
Despite being caught and called out for double standards, Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Muhyiddin, denied the accusation saying that his government does not have double standards in enforcing Covid-19 regulations, and the laws made to curb the virus are subjected to the politicians as well. The reality is the opposite, and the double standards are evident. Individuals are fined up to RM50,000 for petty mistakes and protesting against the injustice that is happening in front of their eyes while politicians and the elites are allowed to travel without any solid reasons and skip the Covid-19 vaccine line whilst facing no consequences.
PUBLIC PRESSURE FOR A BETTER FUTURE
Malaysians’ request for Muhyiddin to step down is valid, as his leadership for the past year has not shown any improvement, and letting him and his Cabinet continue to rule the country would cause more harm to the country and the people. Class discrimination is obvious, and the people can no longer depend on the authorities to regain justice. This unjust government must be called out not only by local organisations that believe in democracy but also by international organisations to effectively put pressure on Malaysian politicians to act properly, as their incompetence is rapidly leading the country into a decline.
Ruhaishah is an undergraduate student majoring in Government and Public Policy, now interning at a local NGO that aims to help those in need and ignored, mainly the Indigenous people in Malaysia. She is currently a freelance writer aspiring to be a journalist in the near future.