This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 30, 2018 - May 6, 2018

The fight for the people’s votes on May 9 is in full swing, and the political parties are making some tempting offers.

One that has created some buzz is the minimum wage of RM1,500, which two major coalitions — the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan — are dangling before the rakyat.

This was among the highlights of The Edge’s review of the two coalitions’ policies that focus on young voters, who form a pivotal segment of the electorate. The question we set out to answer was: Which of these groups is more in tune with what youth want?

PH candidates will be contesting under the logo of PKR, a component party of the coalition, as the Registrar of Societies has declined its application to be registered.

For a summary of the proposed benefits and measures offered by the two coalitions, see Figure 1.

Interestingly, their promises are very similar in key areas. Both offer to raise the minimum wage to RM1,500 and job creation is high on their lists.

The Bank Negara Malaysia Annual Report 2016 provides a good insight into the challenges faced by youth seeking employment.

To address the issue of graduate unemployment, it notes that a range of policy measures have to be adopted.

Among other things, the authorities need to prepare for rapidly evolving industries, tune in to new types of jobs being created, ensure the readiness of the human capital base and enhance matching in the labour market.

These complex challenges explain why the coalitions have their jobs cut out for them when promoting the interests of youth.

Speaking at a forum earlier this month, BN Youth executive secretary Zaidel Baharuddin noted that the government has been addressing the issue over several decades.

He said under the Eleventh Malaysia Plan (11MP) from 2016 to 2020, the government is expected to create 1.8 million jobs targeted at the youth.

At the same forum, PKR Youth deputy chief Sangeetha Jayakumar said PH aimed to create one million jobs within five years and of these, 200,000 would cater for Sabah and Sarawak.

In an interview with The Edge, the party’s youth chief, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, said if PH forms the next government, the coalition aims to move the economy up the value chain by attracting businesses at the higher end of the productivity scale.

Such investors will cater for undergraduates whose skills are under-utilised, he added. “We need to match them with high-quality manufacturing. The low-end job operators are going to Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia. Those jobs are valueless to our graduates.”

The proposal by both coalitions to raise the minimum wage to RM1,500 appears to have been made with young voters and people in the bottom 40% of the economy (B40) in mind.

On the minimum wage, Nik Nazmi said the country needs to evolve beyond the low-wage economic model, which is based on the formula that low wage equals low cost.

Sharing his observations about the rakyat in Seri Setia, the Selangor state constituency that he had represented since 2008, Nik Nazmi said shoppers at popular markets like the Ramadan bazaars are buying fewer packets of food, indicating that they are on a tighter budget.

This sign of shrinking purchasing power is making the working class angry, he said.

To relieve the people’s hardship, PH proposes to increase the disposable income of the B40 group by raising the minimum wage to RM1,500 within five years.

“We can do this ... Of course, we are not making businesses the enemy. SMEs (small and medium-size enterprises) have to be assisted to achieve this. We’re talking about doing it hand in hand with them,” he said.

“We plan to help the SMEs with tax cuts for those that are offering employees a living wage of RM2,700 and above. This can be recognised through an endorsement on the company logo, for example.

“Another measure is to share the government’s income, where a certain portion can be given to SMEs that pay living wages. Also, a wage council will look into the matter.”

As for BN, the proposal to increase the minimum wage to RM1,500 within five years is stated in its manifesto, under economic benefits for the people. No details are provided on the proposal.

BN leaders who were asked on this matter were not available for comment at the time of publication.

It is worth noting that BN is taking the lead in offering youth a bigger voice in government. It proposes to enhance the role of youth in national development by encouraging them to forward fresh and creative policy ideas to the authorities through the MyCadang app. The ideas received would be selected for presentation at Cabinet meetings once a month, the BN manifesto states.

Another BN proposal is to increase youths’ engagement with the local authorities by establishing local government youth councils.

The PH manifesto does not have any clear proposals to include youth in the political process.

The lack of focus on youth empowerment is also seen in the general election process this time round.

“Five years ago, the ‘Ini kali lah’ movement was widely felt,” said Jarren Tam, a senior policy analyst at the Centre for Public Policy Studies, referring to the opposition’s campaign slogan for a change of government during the 13th general election.

“The idea of having a whole new way of looking at politics that is fairer and more just enticed the voters then. However, we predict that this time round, the participation from youth will fade as they no longer have something positive to vote for.”

This view resonates with IDEAS research coordinator Aira Azhari, who attributed the emergence of the #UndiRosak movement, a campaign to boycott the election, to the fatigue felt by young voters over the unresponsive political process.

“The #UndiRosak movement is a testament to the extreme political fatigue faced by Malaysian youth today. Both BN and PH dismissed the movement without attempting to understand the reasons behind this fatigue,” said Aira, who is with the policy institute’s democracy and governance unit.

In broad terms, both coalitions have given some attention to economic issues such as youth unemployment and cost of living pressures, but on the question of more meaningful political participation for youth, they have some way to go.

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