Youth Readiness in Electoral Participation for Sustainable Governance: A Study of University Students in Malaysia

The introduction of UNDI18 in 2019 significantly reshaped Malaysia’s political landscape by lowering the voting age to 18 years old. This study examines the factors that influence youth readiness for electoral participation, which consist of political literacy, political exposure, and youth perception among undergraduate students in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Samarahan campus. The study highlights the role of youth participation in the electoral process as a vital component in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG16), which emphasizes the importance of inclusive and participatory decision-making for sustainable societies. The study also explores the role of personality traits through the usage of the HEXACO model of personality and how it can relate to shaping youth electoral engagement. A total of 382 students aged between 18 and 30 years old from various faculties have participated in the survey. The findings reveal that among the HEXACO model of personality dimensions, extraversion and openness to experience emerge as the dominant traits associated with electoral readiness amongst youth. As a result, such findings suggest that outreach programs designed to appeal to extroverted and open-to-experienced youth individuals, such as interactive forums, campus debates, and digital engagement through creative media, will enhance youth voter turnout. Based on the historically low youth participation before the 14th Malaysian General Election (GE14), leveraging these personality traits could be the key to mobilizing a larger segment of the electorate in Malaysia.