The stats:
1) In the tsunami of GE12, 2008, out of a total registered voter base of about 10.9 million, there were a total of 8,109,134 votes for 214 parliament seats at stake on Election Day. Eligible voters according to the Election Commission stood at 10,516,256. Assuming partisan voters voted as they should, the massive shift of popular support indicated overall dissatisfaction and cry for change. Malaysians are generally aware of the whys, given the number of after the fact, analyses after analyses.
2) The opposition would have had an outright win if it won another 30 seats (to form a majority in parliament) and all they needed was just another 56,000 votes.
3) There will be about 29 million Malaysians come 2010 as indicated by the following stats from the EPU and Statistics Department:
What is important to note is the median age of the populace will be 24.2 years, with 63.60% within the 15-64 age band.
4) 4 million eligible voters (mostly aged under 30) did not register in time for the 2008 elections.
5) By the next general elections another estimated 2 million young Malaysians will be eligible to vote, making the total number of eligible voters 16.9 million. Given the population census, it would be safe to assume most are under 40 years of age, which also happens to be the age limit of political party youth wings.
6) Analysis of the March 2008 elections showed that the majority of newly-registered voters and those below 30 supported the Opposition.
It is obvious that Malaysian youth no longer wallow in political apathy. They tend to be aware of what is happening around them. More crucially, they have varied reasons to vote for the opposition. They are connected not only insofar as issues are concerned but also in terms of cyber-networking; the key reason being that young Internet-savvy voters obtain their news chiefly from the pro-opposition alternative media, which they perceive as more credible than the mainstream media.
The writing on the wall for BN is obvious; connect with the young voters or become the Opposition coalition after the next general elections. Fielding younger 30s and 40s candidates alone will not do, just as trying to get old BN dogs to learn new tricks is near impossible.
The next GE appears only for PR to lose mainly through the youth. The reality is that the more politically conscious amongst the youth are likely to be conscientious enough to register for voting and being young, they can afford the time and the space to experiment with change! With this said, at 10.00 am today I Googled "PAS UMNO Youth" and this is what I got:
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News results for UMNO PAS Youth
MedIndia
Umno Youth may join Pas in rally - 21 hours ago
Tengku Azman said he had discussed the matter with Umno Youth head Khairy Jamaluddin and had obtained his approval. On Tuesday, Selangor Pas commissioner ...New Straits Times - 153 related articles »
Pas Youth Challenged To Team Up With Umno Youth Against Dap -Bernama - 3 related articles »
NST Online Umno Youth may join Pas in rally
6 Aug 2009 ... KUALA LUMPUR: Umno Youth may walk together with Selangor Pas ... The planned Umno Youth and Selangor Pas Youth walk is the latest ...nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/.../index_html - Cached - Similar -
BERNAMA - Pas Youth Challenged To Team Up With Umno Youth Against Dap
7 Aug 2009 ... MARANG, Aug 7 (Bernama)-- The Umno Youth movement Friday invited itsPAS counterpart to be together with the movement in a ceramah to be ...bernama.com/bernama/v5/newspolitic.php?id=431158 - Cached - Similar -
The Nut Graph Umno Youth lauds PAS Youth's “courage” (Updated)
At the moment, neither PAS Youth nor Umno Youth have given a suggested date or ... [PAS Youth and Umno Youth] have not even gone out on our first date yet. ...thenutgraph.com/umno-youth-lauds-pas-youths-courage - Cached - Similar -
Khairy to PAS youth: Come join us to defend Islam
7 Aug 2009 ... MARANG, Aug 7 — The Umno Youth movement today invited its PAS ... Well, if PAS Youth does join up with UMNO Youth, it will confirm their ...www.themalaysianinsider.com/.../34552-khairy-to-pas-youth-come-join-us-to-defend-islam -Similar -
PAS Youth rejects call for beer demo by Umno Youth
7 Aug 2009 ... “We will not entertain any overtures by Umno,” said state PAS deputy youthchief Ahmad Zaidy Abdul Mutalib who added they were aware Umno ...themalaysianinsider.com/.../34515-pas-youth-rejects-call-for-beer-demo-by-umno-youth -Cached - Similar -
Show more results from themalaysianinsider.com
PAS Youth invites Umno Youth for academic discourse
1 Jul 2009 ... KUALA LUMPUR: Pas Youth has invited Umno Youth to an academic discourse on current issues, just after unity talks between PAS and Umno ...thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/7/1/nation/... - Cached - Similar -
WILL SELANGOR PAS SUCK UP TO UMNO YOUTH AND LEAVE THE PAKATAN ...
Umno Youth executive council member Azman Zainol Abidin, however, set a condition thatPas Youth must first obtain a police permit for the demonstration. ...sjsandteam.wordpress.com/.../will-selangor-pas-suck-up-to-umno-youth-and-leave-the-pakatan/ - Cached - Similar -
Political Islam - Pas Youth Deny Pas-Umno Cooperation
KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 (Bernama) -- Pas Youth Wednesday denied reports by several media organisations about cooperation between the movement and Umno Youth ...wfol.tv/index.php?option=com_content&task...id... - Cached - Similar -
MAHAGURU58: PAS Youth invites UMNO Youth for an 'intellectual ...
Congratulations to Ustaz Nasarudin Hassan Tantawi, the PAS Youth Chief for being gentleman enough to invite UMNO Youth to an intellectual discourse between ...mahaguru58.blogspot.com/.../pas-youth-invites-umno-youth-for.html -Cached - Similar -
PAS Youth defends overtures to Umno - Malaysiakini
PAS had no intention of intimidating Pakatan Rakyat partner PKR with a statement about a recent meeting with Umno, said Youth chief Salahuddin Ayub. ...www.malaysiakini.com/news/86152 - Cached - Similar -
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It looks like more of the same old, same old; the jingoism that is synonymous with the kind of seige mentality which is more reflective of containing the barbarians within the gates than keeping barbarians at the gates. Come the next GE, PAS Youth members are likely to still vote PAS but the same may not hold true for UMNO Youth. Compare all this to PoPTeeVee and a new movement that was launched recently: Youth For A Better Malaysia.
The latter is organizing a forum on the 16th of this month and in their own words: "This dual-language forum, for youth and by youth, intends to showcase young Malaysians who are making Malaysia a better place to younger Malaysians who are looking to do the same.
Accomplished Malaysian youth from various sectors will provide insight, guidance and networking opportunities to Malaysians only a few years younger than them, in the hope of building relationships and bonds that will result in a stronger, more united group of young people empowered to continuously improve Malaysia.The forum also hopes to bridge the widening gap between Malaysians who study in different countries overseas and local students by providing a shared opportunity to exchange views and better understand diverse perspectives.
Venue: Sunway University College, Main hall – Auditorium 7 – Level 2, South East Building
Date: Sunday, August 16th
Time: 8.30am – 6.30pm
Program:
8.30am: Opening ceremony.
9.00am: Civil Service / Political Work
Tricia Yeoh, Wan Firdaus, Lee Khai Loon, Dr. Marzuki
10.45am: Civil Society
Ong Jing Cheng, Faisal Abdul Aziz, N. Surendran, Yati Kaprawi
12.30pm: Lunch
1.30pm:
2 panels will be held simultaneously -
Business and Entrepreneurship
Intan Hashim, Roshan Thiran
Professions
Edmund Bon, Fadiah Fikri
3.00pm:
2 panels will be held simultaneously -
Education / Academics
Wong Chin Huat, Pn. Rosmaria, Wan Ahmad Faysal
Arts /Activism
Fahmi Fadzil, Mark Teh, Mien Lor
4.30pm:
Electoral Politics
Nik Nazmi, Hannah Yeoh, Lim Si Pin, Rahman Dahlan"
Check out the speaker profiles and see what you think. I personally think there is hope yet for tomorrow's Malaysia because of today's youth!
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