Should Singapore's voting age be 21? | The Current State - video Dailymotion

AsiaOne

With Singapore being one of eight countries in the world where the voting age is 21 or older, we want to find out what Singaporeans think of it. We also spoke to Professor Elvin Lim, a political science expert, to dig deeper.  Watch more: https://www.asiaone.com/video

Transcript

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.

02:57Maybe 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.

Should Singapore's voting age be 21? | The Current State

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