PETALING JAYA: Troubled by their options in the 14th general election (GE14), many young voters are questioning the point of voting in a “lose-lose situation”, or whether voting for Pakatan Harapan (PH) will do much to reform the government.
Such voters have come together under the hashtag #UndiRosak, debating whether they should spoil their votes as a form of protest against GE14, with some even suggesting that they boycott the election altogether.
For almost two weeks, #UndiRosak has been the virtual platform for debate on social media, especially Twitter, with thousands of tweets received on the matter.
GE14 must be held by August this year although Parliament is widely expected to be dissolved in the next few months.
A ballot determined as spoilt, null or invalid by the Election Commission will not be included in the vote count.
Come polling day, this is exactly what many young voters are planning to do, by crossing all options on their ballot paper to make a statement.
Those who welcome the idea of #UndiRosak say there is not much of a choice to be made, or that voting for the opposition will not bring reform to the system.
“Let’s say if we cast undi rosak, if tak ramai undi rosak (not many spoilt ballots) it becomes statistics. If cukup ramai (many enough), the votes become a statement that we don’t like Coke or Pepsi. We want Sprite!” tweeted Aisyah Ezral.
Ahmad Zunaidi meanwhile said Reformasi movement was initially started by Anwar Ibrahim because of Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Now that PH wants to “uplift this old grandpa to power again… I’d say #UndiRosak is a brilliant idea,” he said.
Fikri Hasim said #UndiRosak was the most appropriate act when voters were stuck with two “corrupt dictators”.
However, not all social media users agree.
Faris Aiman urged his friends, especially those in Malaysia, not to join the #UndiRosak bandwagon.
Arguing that voting in elections is the biggest and easiest act they can do for Malaysia, he added, “Never commit yourself to this childish and irresponsible act that makes you voiceless.”
Another Twitter user, Alwyn Lau, wrote that #UndiRosak may be an option in the future but not this year.
He said it was not about voting for PH, but rejecting Barisan Nasional (BN).
Analysts say the spoilt votes, if cast in large numbers, are likely to benefit BN more than PH.