The euphoria of Parliament unanimously passing the Constitutional Amendment Bill 2019 to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 is now being replaced by the realisation that youths fresh out of school may not after all be informed about the responsibilities of voters.
Thus the need to educate them. To this end, suggestions are pouring in to include knowledge of the political system, the workings of Parliament and the Constitution in the curriculum.
One political analyst even suggested that students should be taught politics as early as the age of 13 so that by 18, they would become informed voters.
The Election Commission, realising that 18-year-olds may not be ready as informed voters, plans to suggest that the Education Ministry incorporate a teaching module on voters’ education in the early years of schooling.
As if the students are not already burdened with both curricular and co-curricular school work,they now need to delve into the nature and characteristics of our political system.
Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik has cautioned that the school is not a place for politics and only basic knowledge of the Constitution and responsibility of citizens are broached.
Now the authorities need to prepare the young voters by spending time, money and energy to equip the 18-year-olds with the knowledge to make them informed voters.
To incorporate a semblance of political studies in the curriculum and even in co-curricular activities would be a burden to the students considering their already overloaded normal school commitment.
It would be best to allow adolescents to develop the educational skills and knowledge that would nurture rational and logical thinking instead of using them to realise a political manifesto.
MOHAMED GHOUSE NASURUDDIN
Centre for Policy Research and International Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang