Examining factors contributing political participation among youths in Kuching, Sarawak

Youth political participation has become an important issue in Malaysia following recent electoral reforms, particularly the implementation of Undi18. The reform lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 and introduced automatic voter registration. This policy added millions of young voters to the electorate. As a result, youth participation has become increasingly important in Malaysian elections. However, concerns remain regarding the level of political engagement among youths. Therefore, this study examines the factors contributing to political participation among youths in Kuching, Sarawak. This study focuses on three factors: political interest, political knowledge, and social media usage. The Civic Voluntarism Model was used as the theoretical foundation. A quantitative research design was applied as data were collected through an online questionnaire distributed to youths aged 18 to 20 in Kuching, Sarawak. The respondents were selected from six parliamentary constituencies. A total of 390 responses from six parliamentary constituencies were successfully collected. The data were analysed using Multiple Regression through SPSS. The findings show social media usage significantly influence the youths’ political participation (β= 0.278, p < 0.001). In contrast, political interest and political knowledge do not show significant relationships with participation. The results suggest that digital platforms play an important role in encouraging youth engagement in politics. These findings provide useful insights for policymakers and political actors to improve youth political participation.