Our Future Their Mess Sabah S Election Disorder

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As Sabah rushes toward its 17th state election on Nov 29, young Sabahans are once again confronted with a troubling reality: although our leaders love to champion “youth empowerment” in speeches and campaign rallies, the actual systems governing our lives continue to overlook us.
The recent disruptions to academic schedules, graduations, and student plans reveal not only logistical mismanagement but a deeper disconnect between political decision-making and the real-world lives of young people.
Youth are the present
Politicians frequently praise youth as the future, yet the demographic reality shows that youth are very much the present.
ADSAccording to the August 2025 Supplementary Electoral Roll, Sabah counts 126,979 voters aged 18 to 20 and 406,950 voters aged 21 to 29, out of approximately 1.78 million registered voters in the state.
Nearly one-third of Sabah’s electorate is young, and with Undi18 in full effect, this election is the most significant test of youth political influence to date.
Despite this, the very group with the power to swing electoral outcomes is also the most negatively affected by inadequate election planning.
Poor coordination
The consequences of poor preparation are painfully visible. Major institutions were forced into last-minute reshuffling of academic calendars, exam schedules, and convocation ceremonies.
Students and their families, many of whom had already booked flights, taken leave, or arranged accommodation, were suddenly confronted with postponements and uncertainty.
These disruptions do not merely inconvenience students; they impose financial burdens on families who may already be struggling, and yet there remains no clear answer on whether any compensation or support will be provided.
The silence from authorities sends a clear message: youth matter when votes are counted, but their lives and commitments are negotiable.
Economic pressure
These disruptions are especially unfair given the economic challenges already weighing on Sabah’s young people. The state recorded an unemployment rate of 7.9 percent in Q3 2024, the highest in Malaysia.
More strikingly, more than 58.6 percent of the unemployed are youths aged 15 to 24, underscoring how heavily joblessness falls on young shoulders.
The financial pressures of living in Sabah continue to climb. In 2022, the median household income in the state was RM4,577, yet the estimated basic monthly budget for a modest family of four in Kota Kinabalu reached RM6,290.
ADSThis means that many families, including those supporting students, are already living beyond their means.
Nationally, over 85 percent of Malaysian youth report feeling stressed by rising living costs, highlighting the emotional strain that accompanies economic hardship.
The election-related disruptions, therefore, are not isolated inconveniences but additional pressures on a generation already navigating unemployment, financial instability, and rising living expenses.
A culture of reactive governance
What this reveals is not just a planning failure but a persistent pattern of reactive governance.
Instead of anticipating predictable clashes between academic timetables and election logistics, authorities once again opted for last-minute adjustments that place the burden on ordinary people.
Elections are not unexpected events; they are part of a long-established democratic cycle.
When disruptions happen repeatedly and the people most affected are young voters, it becomes clear that the system is not built with youth in mind. It is built around bureaucratic convenience, not civic empowerment.
A meaningful democracy is not merely about getting people to the ballot box. It is also about ensuring that the system respects their time, commitments, finances, and lives. Right now, young Sabahans are being treated as political participants only when convenient.
When their needs conflict with administrative decisions, they become invisible. This attitude undermines democratic inclusion and weakens trust in public institutions.
What must change immediately
If youth truly matter, concrete action must follow. Authorities must provide transparent answers on compensation for students and families affected by sudden changes.
This is not merely financial assistance but an acknowledgement that their time and resources were disregarded.
Moving forward, long-term coordination between the Election Commission, the Higher Education Ministry, and academic institutions must be institutionalised to ensure that election dates and major academic events do not clash.
Most importantly, youth voices need to be included in planning processes, not only in political speeches.
To the young people of Sabah: you are not powerless, and you are not invisible. You are not just the leaders of tomorrow - you are key stakeholders today. Hold leaders accountable not only for their promises but for their planning.
Demand transparency, demand coordination, and refuse to accept recurring disruptions as normal. Your milestones, your time, and your future deserve respect.
This election will determine more than who holds power; it will reveal whether our leaders truly value the generation that will inherit the consequences of their decisions.
And if they do not, then it is up to young Sabahans to make that message unmistakably clear at the ballot box. - Mkini
NURUL ANNA MAUSAR is a young Sabahan voter, law student, and opinion writer who focuses on youth rights, governance, and public policy.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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