T4

YOUTH

STARTWO, WEDNESDAY 27 FEBRUARY 2008

Todays youth take

their votes seriously.

Have you got a

news tip?

By NIKI CHEONG
niki@thestar.com.my

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R.AGE ...
is a youth pullout dedicated to you.
endorses your thoughts and trends.

R.AGE IS YOU!
R.AGE is not just a publication.
It is a state of mind. Yours.

What's on

www.rage.com.my

ORE young people are beginning

to take elections seriously, and many
want their voices taken just
as seriously. It is not a sentiment that has gone
unnoticed; there are
more young candidates
fielded this election.
With the Internet as
their tool, youths are also
more actively educating
themselves about politics
and spreading the awareness
to their peers. There are also
youths volunteering their time and
skills during this campaigning period.
More importantly, there is a growing
awareness among youths on the importance of exercising their rights to vote.
After all, those under 24 form 55% of
Malaysias population.
Young Malaysians talk to Youth2 about
their concerns, and what roles they can
play onboard the bullet train to polling
day.

New voices
adults becoming more aware of their
responsibility to vote, most probably
because the status of our nations economy begins to have a more direct
impact on their lifestyle.
Hence, choosing the right
government would somewhat determine the direction of their future.

Nabila Nasir, 23
PR Executive

Barry Westerhout, 28
Admin executive
Are the youths bothered? Im not too sure.
I myself would like to see Malaysia be
developed further without any minorities
being sidelined. Equality, transparency as
well as the need to upkeep human rights
is essential. This election, young people
need to know the issues, be responsible
and vote wisely.

Supergirl

Lots to read on the R.AGE website this

week. A contributor writes in from the
United States about her experience
studying in a foreign country. And if
you're into board games, check out the
article on the campaign to put Kuala
Lumpur on the Monopoly Map. Only a
few days left to vote! While you're at it,
do check out the piece on Koh Jen Li, the
butt-kicking supergirl.

Vote Now!

In case you didn't know, R.AGE posts a

new poll every week on our website. We
need your opinions as it matters a lot to
us. In fact, e-mail us your ideas for a
new poll. Who knows? You might see
your poll in the issues to come.
This week on our poll, we want to
know:
What do you think is the most popular
Malaysian sport?
> Football
> Badminton
> Swimming
> Futsal
> Squash
> Sepak Takraw

Its always been the primary issue of getting a platform for youth voices to be
heard, of being included in the process of
decision-making. But I think it is also
important that youth are not just taken as
one big category.
It is vital in fact, for candidates to
realise that there are many of us who slip
through the cracks of the system especially when it comes to education such as
loan/scholarship application or freedom of
speech within the public local universities. It is time that the youth step out of
the vacuum they live in and step up to
society.

Phang Kuan Hoong, 27

Effa Desa, 24
Freelance Film Producer
I was an observer with election watchdog
MARFEL during the last by-elections. I
realised then that I must not lose out on
future elections so I registered to vote. Its
really hard to find information on candidates, so I made it a point to research
them. As young people, we have access to
more information by going online because
we understand the medium.
I will continue to be an observer independently this elections because the only
way to be objective is to put different
parts and viewpoints together and view
the picture as a whole.

Art director
I think not a lot of youths understand the
gravity or significance of their votes
because most of us are detached from the
nations issues. Its about time they realise
that because of their sheer number, they
can indeed make a difference in this country.

Writer

Click 2 Win

Teh Lay Hoon, 23

Research assistant
I realise that one day I would be responsible for my country. And since this right
(to vote) has been warranted to me, I had
better not let it pass me by. Thus, I registered as a voter last year right after my
graduation as I was not of the legal age to
vote during the last round of elections.
I noticed the trend of young working

Norman Teh, 22
Graphic Designer

Michelle Gunaselan, 25

Fancy an extra RM50 in your

wallet/purse? Then take part in our Click
to Win contest! The theme is People at
Work. We want to see your most creative
interpretation of the theme. All you have
to do is send your pictures in JPEG format
to photo@rage.com.my by March 2. Each
image must be a high resolution photo of
at least 500KB. Remember to include your
full name, IC number, address, phone
number and the name of your school or
institution.

at its best and people need to understand

that. Make your vote count.

I am involved in campaigning for the person to best represent our ideals and our
interests. Personally thus far, I have not
joined any party and am remaining neutral. Malaysian interests, and Malaysians
for a better Malaysia thats what I want.
Currently, I am sending out messages to
my Facebook group VOTEd a sort of preelection homework assignment for all of
us. Policies need to be reviewed, I feel,
and our benefactors need to stop taking
us for granted.
(Young people need to) vote, and vote
wisely. You may think these things dont
affect you now... but they will. And they
are. Know your MPs, and know what policies they plan to put into effect, get educated is all Im saying. Then decide what
you would like to do with the information. Its not an emotional issue, its logic

I think this time round, the Internet will

have a larger amount of influence on the
elections, especially considering a large
majority of Internet users locally are in
the youth segment. One concern of youth
would be access to information. There is
that sense of participation but lack of
knowledge of how to get involved.
A change of mentality in politics is what
we need for the young. We really need to
be committed find out what is our
involvement in this coming elections and
who we want to represent us and embody
what we want to say through analysis on
valued discourse and political soundbites. I hope we will turn out in force to
exercise our rights, and responsibilities as
citizens by voting and know what are we
voting for.

Kalaiselvan s/o Moghan, 20

Student
I am not of voting age but I feel that this
should in no way stop my contribution
during this election. I am helping out in
any and every way I can in the
Youth4Sharizat Campaign. The young
must choose the rights of our country, and
much as theyd like to think we have no
say due to our age, we actually do. Young
people, no matter the age, should show
their strength as the supporters/voters ...
by contributing our resources (intelligence, energy, ideas etc).