SINGAPORE - While some young people in this region might think that their future lies in the West, in countries such as the United States, it is important that young people understand developments in their immediate neighbourhood.
This is especially so given the great economic opportunities and potential among regional countries such as Indonesia, said Dr Shashi Jayakumar, founder of risk consultancy firm SJK Geostrategic Advisory.
“It is important for us, especially young people, to concentrate and pay some attention to our closest neighbours,” said Dr Shashi, noting that it would be beneficial for young people to understand, on a more personal level, what newly minted Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto stood for, as well as the potential linkages young people in Singapore and Indonesia could benefit from.
Dr Shashi was one of the panellists alongside Mr Luhut Pandjaitan, newly appointed chairman of Indonesia’s National Economic Council and a special adviser for digitalisation and government technology, and The Straits Times’ Indochina bureau chief Tan Hui Yee and Malaysia bureau chief Shannon Teoh.
The panel spoke at the ST Asia Future Summit on the topic of South-east Asia’s youth and how their votes and vitality will shape the politics and economies of the region.
Agreeing with the need for young people in Asean to collaborate more in the areas of the economy, research and the resolution of territorial disputes such as the South China Sea, Mr Luhut said: “If we are able to consolidate, we can have one voice... It is very important to understand and not look only at your own interests but also at Asean as a big market.”
With young people in the Asean region making up about a third – or more than 200 million – of the total population in the grouping, the panel sought to shine the light on youth involvement and voices in elections in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia over the years.
By signing up, I accept SPH Media's Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy as amended from time to time.
The cost of living has been top of mind for voters, including the young electorate, for the past three election cycles in Malaysia since 2013, said Mr Teoh.
Malaysia’s last general election took place in 2022, which was also the first time those aged 18 were allowed to vote, after the ceiling was lowered from 21 years of age. The election led to the appointment of current Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
“But of course, when you speak to youth, things like inflation, the cost of living... are always mentioned and always come hand in hand with job opportunities, economic opportunities,” said Mr Teoh.
“What this is really translating to is a quality-of-life question,” he added.
Meanwhile, one of the ways Indonesia was trying to build human capital and give its young people a leg up was through developing “elite schools”, said Mr Luhut.
This programme would give students across the country the chance to study overseas, in places including Singapore, the US and Europe, during their tertiary years.
“We (want to) see the transformation, transfer of knowledge to the people... (so) we have to prepare the people of Indonesia,” said Mr Luhut, adding that the country is also collaborating with China on research and education projects that include research on genomics and raw materials, such as seaweed.
In Thailand, the voice of the young voter has led to winds of change among the historically polarised pro-royalist military parties as well as the current ruling Pheu Thai Party that is linked to billionaire and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
“(They) turned around and realised that the youth progressive party was the biggest threat to power,” said Ms Tan.
“The political elites in Thailand are constantly looking over their shoulder trying to figure out how to keep the youth votes under control.”
The youth progressive party refers to the popular Move Forward Party that was the biggest vote-getter in the 2023 general election but was blocked from forming the government when Pheu Thai and the conservative parties formed an unprecedented coalition.
In August, Move Forward was dissolved in a court ruling over its campaign promise to amend Thailand’s royal defamation law. It regrouped as the People’s Party.
“The youth vote is important, it is very loud. And young people’s progressive ideas are setting the agenda,” said Ms Tan.
Yet another political upheaval was the installation of Thaksin’s 38-year-old daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra as prime minister in August after former premier Srettha Thavisin was dismissed by a court ruling over an ethics case.
And while some might think Ms Paetongtarn represents the young voter, Ms Tan noted that her links to the established political powers and “massive privilege” meant that she did not represent these voices.
During the discussion, Dr Shashi also touched on what seemed to be polarised thinking or different points of view among young people on various issues, including the Russia-Ukraine war and the conflict in Gaza.
“This is really interesting, because young people are not necessarily wholly polarised, although there are signs of polarised thinking. But they want to know what they can do. They are aware,” he said.
These might have been topics that generations before would deem not permissible for public discussion, but the exposure over social media to these issues has resulted in and accelerated such discourse. “The cat is out of the bag, and there’s no way to put the cat back in,” he said.
Dr Shashi saw this as a positive development, but he also cautioned against the formation of fault lines, given the issues of extremism and disinformation, and said it was crucial to teach young people skills to think critically.
“Even as we accept that the future generation is growing up to be digital natives, who have the entire spectrum (of digital tools) at their disposal, at least they have some basic moral overlay, moral understanding of these tools,” he said.