UNIMAS-led initiative tackles low voter awareness through hands-on political literacy workshops
Written by Associate Professor Dr Arnold Puyok
KUCHING, 11 JUNE 2025 — In response to Malaysia’s UNDI18 policy, which lowers the voting age to 18, a civic education initiative through SULAM has been launched in Sarawak to empower and prepare first-time voters through practical learning and engagement.
UNDI18 BridgeWorks: Empowering TVET Youth for Democratic Participation was a full-day interactive workshop successfully organised by final-year Politics and Government Studies (PolGov) student from Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FSSH), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS). The programme was supported by the Youth Empowerment Society (YES) Sarawak and Sarawak Skills, Kuching in collaboration with Rise of Sarawak Efforts (ROSE) and Pertiwi Progresif (PRO).
The initiative gathered 48 students from Sarawak Skills Kuching for a hands-on civic education experience, focusing on building awareness, leadership, and critical thinking among youth aged 18 to 25 from technical and vocational backgrounds. The workshop aimed to bridge academic knowledge of politics with real-world understanding of democratic participation.
The day featured a range of interactive sessions including democracy simulations, leadership-building activities, and a dynamic panel discussion featuring Assoc. Prof. Dr. Arnold Puyok [Deputy Dean (Research and Commercialisation) and Senior Lecturer in Politics and Government Studies at Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, UNIMAS], Mr. Geoffrey Tang (President of ROSE), Mr. Melvin Jangga (President of YES Sarawak), Mr. Nohvendraraaj A/L Ganesan (final year student of PolGov) and Sarawakian youth activist Mr. Ivan Alexander Ong. Participants explored the importance of youth participation in elections, discussed challenges faced by voters and deepened their understanding of voter education as a foundation for meaningful civic awareness and engagement.
Executive Director of Sarawak Skills, Encik Hallman Bin Haji Sabri, who officiated the closing ceremony, emphasised the importance of holistic development for TVET students. “Technical education must go beyond practical skills. Our students must also be aware of the political and civic landscape that shapes the world around them. We don’t want youth to remain passive observers. We want them to be changemakers for their own growth and for the future of the nation. This initiative directly supports our shared goal of building a progressive, responsible, and civic-minded MADANI society,” he said. This initiative aligns with national efforts to strengthen political literacy and ensures that Malaysian youth are equipped, confident, and motivated to engage in the democratic process. This SULAM program aligns with the aspirations of the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) under the MOHE Inspirational Focus Program 3: Knowledge Transfer and Sharing, as outlined in the Hala Tuju Pendidikan Tinggi 2025 (HTPT 2025) – Sejahtera MADANI. It also supports the ‘1 IPT : 1 Daerah’ initiative, which emphasizes the role of higher education institutions in community development, in line with UNIMAS’s UniversCities agenda. This civic initiative contributes directly to SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) while strengthening collaboration between academia, civil society and local communities.
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