IMAN Research finds gaps in how Chinese youths understand politics and public institutions

Résumé détaillé

A young Chinese individual may know about the latest political controversy, follow debates on social media or have strong views about the rising cost ...

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 — A young Chinese individual may know about the latest political controversy, follow debates on social media or have strong views about the rising cost of living.

Yet, he or she could still be unsure which government agency is responsible for addressing a problem in their neighbourhood, or how politics fit into everyday life application.

That gap between following politics and understanding how the system works emerged as one of the findings in a recently published IMAN Research study on Malaysian Chinese youths.

The interviews found that participants often associated national politics with elections, scandals, party manoeuvring and disputes over race and religion.

When discussing issues closer to home, such as housing, education, wages and local services, however, they were often more specific about what was going wrong and what they wanted changed.

The question — is whether young people know how these everyday concerns connect to public institutions, who makes the decisions and where they can turn to have their voices heard.

The report, Kami Orang Sini Juga: Chinese Youths and Democratic Belonging — The Politics of Pragmatism and Fairness, is based on interviews with 116 Malaysian Chinese youths aged between 18 and 35 across Peninsular Malaysia.

One of the report’s findings was that the 116 participants vaguely recall what they had learnt through the former Pendidikan Sivik dan Kewarganegaraan subject or how it had shaped their understanding of politics as adults.

Some remembered civic lessons being replaced by subjects considered more important.

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