00:00I call for the lowering of the voting age from 21 to 18 years
00:03to empower younger Singaporeans to have a say at our national elections.
00:08A number of countries have lowered their voting age.
00:12Some to increase voter turnout,
00:15others perhaps for perceived political advantage.
00:19We don't have the first problem,
00:21and we should certainly not do for the second reason.
00:24Since Singapore's first general elections in 1948,
00:28the voting age here has been 21.
00:32It's one of eight countries in the world
00:34where the voting age is 21 or older.
00:37And with the general elections slated to happen this year,
00:40let's take a deep dive into the conversations
00:42regarding the current state of our voting age.
00:50In 2019, our neighbours Malaysia lowered their voting age from 21 to 18
00:56with UMNO MP Hishamuddin Hussein stating
00:59it's a move that empowers youth in the country.
01:02So this idea of lowering the voting age in Singapore is not a new suggestion.
01:07It's been brought up through the years by various political parties.
01:10For example, in 2019,
01:12Progress Singapore Party's Tan Chengbok
01:14called for the voting age to be lowered to 18
01:18to give young Singaporeans a say in choosing their leaders.
01:22In reply,
01:23then Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun-sing
01:26said that the voting age is set at 21
01:28as the government takes a graduated approach
01:32concerning legal ages for responsibilities in Singapore.
01:36Then, Workers' Party Chair Sylvia Lim
01:39brought the topic up again in 2023
01:41where she stated this was a form of age-based discrimination
01:46and a big disservice to our young.
01:51So at the age of 18,
01:53you're able to get a driving license in Singapore,
01:56register a business.
01:57However, the age of majority in Singapore is 21 years old,
02:03the age where you gain full legal rights
02:06and responsibilities as a Singapore citizen.
02:09Some argue that the voting age should be lowered to 18
02:13to give youth a stronger voice in parliament,
02:16while others feel that youth might not be mature enough
02:19for such a decision
02:20and should instead focus on their personal responsibilities at the time,
02:24such as school or national service instead.
02:28So, should Singapore stick to its current voting age of 21?
02:33Well, we went to have a chat with a few people on the streets
02:36and I'm curious to find out what happened.
02:39Let's take a look.
02:41I don't think we should lower the voting age.
02:43I think 21 and above is the right age, I believe.
02:47No, 21 is just fine.
02:49Perfect, yeah.
02:49I honestly don't care.
02:51I don't think it really matters lah.
02:52I don't think it matters lah.
02:53I think they should...
02:55Increase.
02:55Increase.
02:57Maybe 25.
02:58You're more mature and you understand the politics better.
03:01I think it can be lowered to like 18
03:03because there's a lot of laws that also allow people to do like a lot more things when they turn 18.
03:09I feel like...
03:09Personally, no.
03:10Yeah, because I feel like you're still developing at that period.
03:12At 18, I don't think I was mature enough to form a sort of opinion on this sort of thing,
03:18but not to say that there aren't people out there who have their mental maturity.
03:22I just say majority don't.
03:24I think nowadays, the generation, they don't really talk about this.
03:28I think they are tired of it already.
03:29I think that you are concerned about politics, but I don't hear much about local politics.
03:36Yeah, it's mostly like external politics regarding nowadays America and whatnot.
03:40I think there's like a mix of it.
03:42Like there's some people who are like interested,
03:44but then I also know of some that don't really care about it.
03:48Sometimes we like discuss about politics that's going around the world.
03:52We don't talk about this kind of stuff because...
03:53Yeah.
03:54Honestly, I don't care.
03:55If she was to ramble about it, I would just listen.
03:57Honestly, when I was 18 years old, I was like, why didn't they lower it?
04:03But now I'm at 26.
04:04I think when you turn 25, the prefrontal load complexes develops.
04:09And I agree that it should be a bit higher.
04:12Right now I'm 26.
04:14But when I was 21, so who am I supposed to vote for?
04:17I don't really know.
04:18And everyone is like, oh, vote for this, vote for this.
04:21But you don't really actually know.
04:22So that generation, yeah, we're still clueless.
04:25But maybe for now, after the years have passed,
04:28at this age for 21 years old,
04:30they probably might have known better than what I've known previously.
04:34So I don't think at 18, I would have the mental maturity
04:37or understanding of the political situation of our country
04:41to make a wise choice with my vote.
04:45No, I think it's too much pressure.
04:47I don't want...
04:48Now those were some interesting answers.
04:52But let's go have a chat with Professor Elvin Lim
04:54from SMU's College of Integrative Studies
04:56to find out more about youth and politics in Singapore.
05:00Hi, Prof. Elvin.
05:01Hey, Edward.
05:02Welcome.
05:02Come have a seat.
05:04Thanks for taking the time to speak with us today.
05:06I'm going to cut straight to the chase.
05:08Yes.
05:08Why is the voting age in Singapore 21?
05:11As far as I know,
05:12it was more of a non-decision than a decision
05:15because the age of majority for the British was 21
05:18and we simply inherited that.
05:20So it hasn't changed through the years,
05:22but there have been some voices who have been advocating for it.
05:26What are your thoughts on that?
05:27Is, for example, 18 an appropriate age for someone to be voting?
05:32On the one hand,
05:33we think of voting as one of a series of activities
05:36that people can engage in to participate, to engage.
05:40And so it's good to have people participating
05:43and engage as soon as possible.
05:45On the other hand,
05:46you also want to ask if what the equivalent of the age of majority is.
05:50Is it still 21?
05:50Is it less?
05:51We want people to be voting for the issues
05:54rather than on emotional responses to demagogic appeals.
05:58And so people debate whether or not we require a higher age limit
06:02or a lower age limit.
06:04But finally, I'll say one way to sort of reconcile this
06:08to think about what really is our conception of citizenship?
06:11What are we expecting from citizens?
06:15And then what might be a reasonable age
06:17in which we start expecting our fellow compatriots
06:20to start performing those acts?
06:21Engagement is a key word
06:23because engagement correlates with many other things
06:26like motivation, willingness to sacrifice your time,
06:30ability to collaborate, etc.
06:32So engagement translated to political science or politics
06:36is voting, your ability to participate, to volunteer.
06:40And the reason why this is important
06:41is because we feel that this then
06:43will then generate a whole host of other positive activities
06:47like volunteering, like if you are so willing,
06:51participating and maybe running for office,
06:53giving your time to various organizations,
06:57donating money.
06:58All of this is part of the words.
07:00And so once you have that view
07:02that you basically want people who are engaged
07:04rather than switched off,
07:06participating in a range of ways.
07:08And to be fair, voting only happens once every five years.
07:11So it's not a very good metric of the other forms of activity
07:14and participation and engagement that one can be engaged in.
07:18And by the way, army also is a form of citizen participation.
07:22So Prof. Elvin, you were talking earlier about,
07:25as part of the process,
07:26setting aside time to be involved in politics,
07:29engaging with the political process.
07:33Now, I remember when I was in school,
07:35when I was 17, 18,
07:37I had a lot of time for that actually.
07:39I was quite interested, I was quite excited.
07:41But then when I started working,
07:42then my priority really became much less politics
07:47and much more the day-to-day,
07:50just making sure that I'm getting my job done.
07:52So actually, isn't it a good idea
07:54to get these 18-year-olds involved?
07:56I would say it's good to socialize people
07:58when they're young.
08:00Get them into the system,
08:01get them, treat them like adults
08:02and have them think like adults.
08:04And sometimes if you treat someone like an adult,
08:05they're more likely to act like one.
08:07It's good to socialize them.
08:08However, I would also say that
08:11even as you got more busy with work,
08:14you might actually have had more incentive
08:16to start voting
08:17because now you have stakes in the game,
08:19whereas the young do not.
08:21So Prof. Elvin, you mentioned earlier
08:22about the concerns of voters.
08:24And I do want to say that younger people,
08:28those in their late teens,
08:30tend to have, I would argue,
08:32they care more about things,
08:34for example, like the climate,
08:36for example, like social justice issues
08:38than people who are older than them.
08:42And does that then mean
08:44that their concerns will be less important
08:49to the people in charge
08:50than the people courting the votes?
08:52I think that's a really good point.
08:54And I would say that stands
08:56as one of the more plausible reasons
08:58as to why we may want to find ways
09:01to bring youth voices into the picture.
09:04Building is one method,
09:05but potentially other modalities.
09:07But that's exactly, you know,
09:09one of the most plausible points,
09:10like I said,
09:11because a democracy only works
09:13if it meaningfully captures
09:15all of the opinions,
09:17whether or not it's diverse or homogenous.
09:19It's good to have all of that in the picture.
09:21Now, it is also true that, in general,
09:24young people, understandably,
09:27are more invested.
09:28See, the investment argument
09:29is not necessarily a bad thing, right?
09:31So they are invested in sustainability
09:33for very good reason.
09:35They will live to tell
09:36the effects of the decisions
09:39made by earlier generations.
09:41So then the question is,
09:43whatever political system we have,
09:44does it calibrate for this
09:45that either via virtual representation
09:48or direct representation,
09:49it is certainly important
09:51that the voices of the youth
09:52are incorporated into decision-making?
09:55That is a great answer.
09:56Thank you so much, Prof. Helgin.
09:57Thanks for having me.
10:00So we've heard some
10:01really interesting insights today
10:03from Singaporeans
10:04about youth
10:04and the voting age in Singapore.
10:06I'm actually still quite
10:08ambivalent about the issue
10:10because on the one hand,
10:11I can see
10:12how lowering the voting age
10:14might be a burden
10:15for younger Singaporeans.
10:17But on the other hand,
10:18it could give them a greater say
10:20in the future of Singapore.
10:22So, what do you think?
10:24Should we keep the voting age at 21?
10:26Should it be lowered
10:26or even increased?
10:28Let us know in the comments.
10:30You've been watching
10:30The Current State.
10:36The Current State.
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