Frustrated and under-represented, Johor youth seek a bigger political voice

BATU PAHAT – Politics was never a priority for Aidil Riduan, who runs a road-marking business in Kulai, Johor. Despite being eligible to vote, the 28-year-old has never cast a ballot.

But in June, he signed up to become a candidate for Bersama, a new party launched just over a month earlier by former ministers Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi.

“I am now on my 10th day of campaigning,” Aidil told The Straits Times on July 6 after a walkabout in Bukit Permai, Kluang, where he is contesting.

Aidil’s journey from disengaged non-voter to candidate reflects a broader disconnect in Johor politics. Nearly half of the southern state’s 2.7 million voters are under 40, but only one in four candidates contesting the election is in the same age group – a gap broadly mirrored across the country.

Many young voters say politicians do not fully understand the economic pressures they face, from low wages to changing patterns of work.

Malaysia lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 in late 2021.

Johor’s state election will be held on July 11.

The median age of candidates is 47, according to ST’s analysis of ElectionData.my. The youngest candidate is ruling coalition Pakatan Harapan’s Danish Hossman, 23, while the oldest is opposition Perikatan Nasional’s Lim Chin Eng, 73, also known as Roland Lim.

Aidil said his absence at previous elections was not due to apathy. He was aware of the problems facing Malaysia and his home town, but like many young Malaysians, his immediate focus was on work and supporting his family.

“I come from a poor family. My mother brought up me and my brother,” he said.

From a young age, he helped support the family by working in restaurants and retail, a routine that continued into university and took a toll on his studies.

“At night I worked at the KFC in town, and in the morning I would go for classes, where I would end up falling asleep because I was tired,” Aidil said.

His turning point came when he saw how many of his friends, including some with university degrees, including PhDs, chose to take retail and manual jobs in Singapore because they could earn more there than in Malaysia.

To Aidil, their experience reflected a wider problem of the “normalisation of mediocrity”, where persistent problems are accepted as inevitable and political leaders face little pressure to change the situation.

“The traffic is bad, there are few job opportunities, and children are falling behind in education, but people say it’s normal when in fact there could be ways to change it,” he said.

Aidil said Bersama’s focus on governance reform and raising incomes convinced him politics could be a vehicle for change. “Someone needs to do something about all that, so that’s why I’m contesting.”

A generation seeking representation

Johor’s economy has strengthened since the 2022 General Election. Unemployment fell to 2.5 per cent in 2025 – higher than the 1.8 per cent for Selangor, the most economically developed state in Malaysia, but below the national average of 3 per cent – although the figure includes residents who commute to higher-paying jobs in Singapore.

In Muar, 31-year-old Amira Aisya, who leads youth-oriented party Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA), said that while the issue of youth employment is often raised in the state assembly, the discussions are often unrealistic.

By that, she meant that discussions often assume traditional career paths despite rapid changes brought about by digitalisation and artificial intelligence. Politicians often fail to account for changing skill demands or the way AI is reshaping the labour market, she noted.

“The job market back then was different from now, and our youth struggle to find work,” Amira told ST.

Despite Johor’s rapid economic growth and low unemployment, the quality and pay of jobs remain a concern. The median monthly wage of formal employees in the state stood at RM2,982 (S$940) in December 2025, below the national median of RM3,167, even as the state government has sought to create higher-paying jobs to stem the flow of workers to neighbouring Singapore.

MUDA secretary-general Ainie Haziqah, 36, who is contesting the Simpang Jeram seat in Muar, said that while 53 per cent of voters in that constituency are under 40, many of them live elsewhere for work.

During walkabouts, Ainie said, many homes were seen occupied only by ageing parents after younger family members left for work elsewhere, in Melaka, Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru or Singapore.

“The job opportunities in the north of Johor are very limited,” she told ST.

“The state government has launched initiatives to boost the state’s economy, but it is not being felt here.”

A debate across party lines

Not all young Johoreans share that frustration. In Panchor, Muar, 27-year-old car mechanic Sufi Sharif said Barisan Nasional (BN) is on the right track under Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi.

“He is young, and he understands our problems, so I think he has our interests at heart,” Sufi said.

At 44 when first appointed in 2022, Onn Hafiz is the youngest Johor Menteri Besar in more than three decades. Now, at 47, he is Malaysia’s second-youngest chief minister behind Selangor’s Amirudin Shari, who is 46.

Sufi added that “BN” stands for “budak ni”, or “this kid”, a moniker adopted by the coalition to highlight Onn Hafiz’s youth.

“I think he (Onn Hafiz) should continue as Menteri Besar. People like how he governs the state,” he said.

But support for BN’s young leadership has not ended calls for greater generational renewal within the coalition.

Even within BN, some supporters question the continued preference for older candidates.

In Sungai Balang, not far from Simpang Jeram, electrician Zulfikri Yahya, 35, said he was disappointed that younger and highly educated BN members were not given the opportunity to contest the seat. Instead, the coalition retained incumbent Selamat Takim, 61, as its candidate.

“We respect Cikgu Selamat for his contribution to the community, but we have younger, more capable people who could be given a chance instead of just putting up flags and banners,” Zulfikri said, referring to Selamat by the honorific commonly used for teachers.

With BN projected by pollster Merdeka Center to retain power, Zulfikri said this was precisely the time to give younger candidates a chance.

“A survey says we can get 42 seats this time, from 40. If we are that strong, can’t we afford to put more young people on the ballot?”