Akademi Nusantara’s Azmi Hassan said Malay youths had misgivings about Umno “for the longest time”.

“In this context, this (increase in young people joining the party) is good news for Umno when it is associated with support among youths,” he told FMT.

On Friday, Umno Supreme Council member Ahmad Maslan revealed that about 60% of the 10,000 who applied to join the party under the “Rumah Bangsa” initiative were youths.

About 6,009 applicants were below 40.

Azmi said while the number of members in a party did not automatically translate to votes, these new applications meant there was interest in the party.

Syaza Shukri of International Islamic University Malaysia said older voters generally backed Umno due to nostalgic reasons.

“Younger voters are different. They yearn for change. This is a step forward for Umno,” she said.

Syaza said Umno must now pay attention to the wants and aspirations of the younger members.

“If Umno pays heed, I believe they (the younger members) will remain with the party,” she said.