KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s next general election will be shaped by young voters who have no nostalgic ties to the Bersih movement or the pre-2018 aspirations of PKR and DAP.
Political analyst Professor James Chin said voters aged 18 to 35 will play a crucial role in the 16th General Election (GE16), but Pakatan Harapan is struggling to adapt to a political environment dominated by social media, short attention spans and increasingly sophisticated digital manipulation.
“These young voters don’t have any nostalgia or legacy issues. They were not part of the ‘reformasi’ or Bersih movements,” said Chin.
He added that political engagement among this group is driven less by institutions or ideology and more by content that captures attention quickly.
“Their politics is driven by social media. Attention spans are short, and manipulation has become an art.
“Semi-urban voters are also unlikely to emerge as a decisive force. Those who are against the system largely don’t go out to vote and are not a significant factor in Malaysian politics.”
Chin, however, said he does not expect a drop in voter turnout in GE16.
“It is not true that a Chinese boycott is likely. They understand the power of elections,” he said, adding that turnout among Malay voters will be far more decisive.
“The Chinese voters will continue to turn up. What Perikatan Nasional needs is for young Malay voters to vote.”
He said the next general election will be shaped by the expanding influence of political messaging delivered through artificial intelligence and TikTok videos, rather than traditional party machinery.
Chin added that Pas has been particularly successful in tailoring its content to this demographic.
“Many of Pas’ TikTok videos are much better produced than those by Pakatan Harapan,” he said.
This trend, he noted, has significant implications for coalition politics.
“The question is: who controls the narrative? Can Pakatan get its act together? At the moment, it can’t seem to capture the TikTok space,” said Chin.
“Without a compelling digital strategy, traditional campaigning methods will struggle to reach voters who consume politics almost entirely through algorithm-driven platforms.”
Chin warned that the rise of artificial intelligence-generated content poses the single greatest risk to democratic processes, particularly among younger voters.
“Democracy faces its biggest risk from the use of AI-generated videos. Their impact is huge, and this is not limited to Malaysia – it is a global problem involving distorted perceptions.”
As AI tools become cheaper and more accessible, he said fake content is becoming increasingly difficult to detect.
Turning his attention to Umno, Chin said he does not see the party as a serious threat due to the lack of internal reform.
“Umno is in decline. It has steadily lost its influence since 2008, as can be seen from the shrinking number of Members of Parliament over the past 17 years,” he said.
“The party’s trajectory shows a clear and unstoppable downward trend. It is still led by the same group of people, with no real reform.
“As long as Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi remains Umno president, the party cannot recover lost ground.”
On suggestions that the Sabah-based Warisan party could make inroads in Peninsular Malaysia, Chin dismissed the idea.
“If Warisan contests in Peninsular Malaysia, all its candidates will still lose, as West Malaysians remain unreceptive to an East Malaysian political platform,” he said, adding that such speculation is largely ‘kopitiam talk’.
“Should Warisan win a seat in Peninsular Malaysia, it would be an exception driven by personal support rather than party strength,” he added.
