Voting Age

In a democracy country,one of the most important human rights is the right to vote. Voting is a process by which a person or a group of people expresses an opinion formally or officially.It gives citizen the chance to have a say in the way they are governed.Through voting,citizens are able to choose candidates for public office or decide on public issues or law. Everyone would agree that there has to be a minimum voting age. In Malaysia,the legal voting age is 21 but there is a general consensus mainly circled around the voting age should be lowered to 18.
In my point of view,voting age in Malaysia should be left at 21 years of age.In the age of 18,young people are not mature enough. The large majority still live at home and still in full time education. They may have adult bodies, but most of them not yet formed their political views and gain sufficient knowledge about the politics of country. Proof of their immaturity can be found in their preference for single issue campaigns over the complexity of a political party. It takes life experience to understand the need for political parties and young people simply don't have this. Young people haven't developed critical thinking faculties which allow them to choose between parties. Young people are highly impressionable and are likely to be swayed by the last opinion they heard – especially if this was aired by someone attractive. . Teens need to spend more time learning about civics and understanding the political issues that affect our nation .In Malaysia, youths do not learn much at all about politics whilst in school as youths are mostly sheltered by a very strict education system.By 21,youths will be more independent and experienced,therefore more likely to be ready to make a well-formed decision to how they want their country to be run.

In addition,voting age should not to be reduced to 18 because is the responsibility for them to vote is too big. Having a broad range of opinion at elections has to be balanced against having responsible voters. Many teenagers have many more important things to think about such as schoolwork and their futures. Exams are already a huge stress for 18 years old as they determine what the rest of their life will entail. Time to research the issues that determine which party would be a better choice, is something that many teenagers simply do not have. 18 years old is a teenage years of learning and experiencing the world, exposed to new ideas and points of view through the new people they meet or from the media. This is the age at which people should be able to think through their political ideas and change them at will, debate and try out policies without having to act on them and without having to take responsibility for their ideas. Therefore voting at this age may be too much a responsibility for teenagers.
Although 16 year olds have the right to do some things, it doesn’t mean that they should use them. If all 18 year olds left home at 18 and started families it would be considered a disaster. And not all rights are given at 18 - most countries have a higher age for important things such as drinking alcohol, serving on a jury, joining the military, etc. It makes sense for different rights to be gained at different times as young people mature and get used to more responsibility. Because voting is so important, it should be one of the last rights to be gained.

Voting is a serious matter. One should understand the nation’s political situation as well as the functioning of the Parliament, Executive and the Judiciary before they can cast their votes for parties which they believe can perform best and deserves to govern the country.It is what makes a democracy, and must be taken seriously by all voters. As the law must be arbitrary, we need the highest common denominator, and 21 is a better line than 18.