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HOW HAS THE INTERNET IMPACTED POLITICAL AWARENESS AMONGST MALAYSIAN YOUTH?
Monday 22/10/2012
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 (Bernama) -- We assume that the Internet – with its rich population of blogs, social media, articles, videos and podcasts – has enabled more citizens to participate in public policy decisions and voice their grouses directly to the government. The Internet, in other words, should enable more citizens, particularly young citizens, to take greater interest in the governance of their country.
But is this really so? Or has the “noise” of the Internet drowned out voices of political thought and dimmed reasoning skills? In the words of the Foundation’s Executive Director, Tan Sri Nik Mohamed Nik Yaacob, “Because it’s so much easier to publish information on the Internet, there is so much being posted online that it’s easy to get lost in the noise of the Internet. If you would imagine a walk down a street to your destination, and all manner of people heckling at you and enticing you to enter their shops and homes as you walk, that, I think, is a suitable imagery for what “surfing the Net” is like these days. Political news and opinions of them are abundant on the Internet, but politics may pale in comparison to the latest celebrity gossip and photos; this is not just a Malaysian phenomenon: even the political debate between US President Obama and his opponent Mitt Romney seems to have been overshadowed by the latest version of “Gangnam Style”. The point is, while the information is there, it still remains up to the individual to access, read and sift through to form a more accurate picture of politics in Malaysia.”
Statistics show that since 1995, the proportion of Malaysia’s voting age population who cast their votes in the national ballots has actually declined, from 63.6% in 1995 to 53.4% in 2008. Will this be different in the upcoming General Elections, now that there are young voters on board?
These are some of the issues that were discussed in the Forum organised by Maybank Foundation and Perdana Leadership Foundation. Titled, “Citizenship in the Age of the Internet”, the Forum took place on the 19th of October, at PERDANA LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION, No.1, Jalan P8H, Precinct 8, Putrajaya, Wilayah Persekutuan (www.perdana.org.my) and featured YB Dato' Saifuddin Abdullah, the Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Malaysia; Ms Tricia Yeoh, former Director of CPPs, ASLI, Mr. Anas Zubedy, Managing Director, Zubedy (M) Sdn Bhd, Mr Cheah Kar Fei, former President of AISEC Malaysia and Mr. Lim Teck Hoe, CEO, The Switch (moderator).
The forum is part of the Essay Competition themed "Responsible Citizenship" which is open to all Malaysians between the ages of 13 and 25. The closing date for the essay competition is 31st October 2012. More information on the essay competition is at www.perdanaessaycompetition.com.my.
About the Essay Competition
The Maybank Foundation-Perdana Leadership Foundation Essay Competition 2012 is open to ALL MALAYSIANS between the ages of 13 to 25 and is running until 31st October 2012. The competition offers attractive prizes such as RM8,000 in cash for the Grand Prize winner, an iPad 2, an E-Reader as well as MPH book vouchers. Additionally, the Grand Prize winner’s college or university will also be rewarded with a computer workstation and book vouchers from MPH, as will the institution that sends in the most number of entries.
More information on the Maybank Foundation-Perdana Leadership Foundation Essay Competition 2012 is available at www.perdanaessaycompetition.com.my. For enquiries, please contact: Izyan Mohamad (03 - 8885 8953 / izyan@perdana.org.my) or Imanizah Selamat (03 – 8885 8960 / imanizah@perdana.org.my)
SOURCE : PERDANA LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
NAME : Zarina Abu Bakar
TEL : 03-8885 8957
EMAIL : zarina@perdana.org.my
NAME : Izyan Mohamad
TEL : 03-8885 8953
EMAIL : izyan@perdana.org.my
--BERNAMA
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