Youth Opinions On Bumiputera Affirmative Action Split Down Ethnic Lines

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When it comes to the national quagmire of wealth redistribution through ethnic-based affirmative action, the new generation may find it just as difficult to untangle the puzzle.
This is because a recent survey on the views of young people, leading up to the 15th general election, shows that opinions remain split on the loaded subject that has far-reaching implications on national policy and outcomes for Malaysians.
While most agree preferential treatment should be given to the bumiputera in various sectors, for example, scholarships and public contracts, they disagree on the extent to which preferential treatment is given, the Youth Aspiration Manifesto Survey report read.
The disagreement, the survey found, is on ethnic lines.
While bumiputera respondents, perhaps as recipients of the preferential treatment, leaned towards always providing this treatment, their Chinese and Indian counterparts disagreed.
Chinese respondents felt special treatment should only be given "sometimes" while Indian respondents leaned toward never providing preferential treatment for bumiputera, the survey showed.
Respondents who lived in a more developed and affluent central region of the country were also found to be more likely against preferential treatment across sectors.
This contrasted with counterparts in different regions, who were less likely to be opposed to the blanket special treatment.
Ensuring youth concerns in manifesto
The survey was commissioned by Undi18, an advocacy group for youth representation in politics and Architects of Diversity, an NGO aimed to bridge identity groups among youth.
It was conducted on 3,089 respondents via survey company Vase.ai's online panel of 18 to 30-year-olds, who were sampled according to the 2020 census statistics on race, gender, age and state.
It was commissioned as part of Undi100, a campaign that aspires to achieve 100 percent youth voter turnout in elections, to provide political parties and coalition insight into youth concerns and demands as they formulate their political manifesto.
The report released to the media today is the second of three instalments.
"As the 15th general election looms and with the introduction of at least 4 million new youth into the voter roll, opportunities abound for all political parties and coalitions to win the youth vote.
"In order to ensure that youth concerns, issues and demands for a better Malaysia are taken into consideration when making election manifestos and promises, policymakers require a systematic way to understand their priorities," the survey report read.
The survey covered topics like employment, housing, education, wealth distribution, healthcare, environment, representation and law and order.
Concerned about environment, health
While youth respondents were split on the question of wealth redistribution, they were more united in their concerns on climate change, environmental issues and mental health.
Three-quarters of the respondents expressed concern about climate change in Malaysia and wanted greater punishment for illegal logging.
At the same time, 66 percent wanted fewer infrastructure development to protect the environment.
On health, a total of 86 percent wanted greater resources in mental health services while 85 percent wanted more funds allocated to the public healthcare system.
Less than half said they were satisfied with the government healthcare system while 37 percent of other respondents felt neutral.
Scared of expressing views online
On the topic of law and order, the youth respondents surveyed appeared to reflect the national fissure of opinions on the death penalty, which the previous Pakatan Harapan government had aimed to abolish.
About a third said it should be abolished, 34 percent were neutral while 28 percent felt it should be kept.
Most of the youths polled also wanted a status quo on the harsh stance against drugs, with only 23 percent agreeing to relaxation of harsh penalties.
Despite living in a less repressive era compared to their predecessors, 59 percent of the youths still felt scared that they may get in trouble for their views posted online.
Correspondingly, about half of the respondents felt offensive speech online should be punished, while 45 percent wanted punishment for insults against the monarchy. - Mkini

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