Two million new voters? How on earth are they going to do that? Never say ‘that’s impossible’ to the idealism of youth.
That’s the ambitious target that a group of young people have set for themselves in a mass voter registration initiative dubbed “Voice your choice”.
You may laugh, you may scoff, but it’s not impossible. Do you know that 4.4 million Malaysians over the age of 21 have not yet registered as voters? Of these, 787,000 are in Selangor.
If there’s any consolation for Umno as it struggles to adapt to a changing political landscape, it is that it is not alone. After having been in power for a long time, political parties tend to think they have the natural right to rule - and then they fail to tackle the rot and adapt to the changing landscape. Like Umno leaders, the Republican leadership too is struggling to come to terms with the new reality and to heed the message of voters.
Check out this Bloomberg report:
Republican Battle for Party Chief Pits Leaders, Base (Update1)
By Heidi Przybyla
Jan. 23 (Bloomberg) — Republican leaders’ efforts to select a new national party chairman are stirring concerns among a vital constituency: Republican voters.
Rank-and-file Republicans are telling their leaders they want more ethnic, gender and age diversity in a party that is dominated by white males. They also want party leaders to cooperate with President Barack Obama, according to surveys.