Civic Participation as a Precursor to Political Participation: A Look at Malaysian Youths

Abstract

The problem of political apathy has been discussed and studied across time, space and cultures with increasing importance. Evidence of youth disengagement has been well documented in all parts of the world. This led to the rise in civic activities as governments struggled with wavering democracies. In a landmark study, Putnam found a direct positive association between civic participation and democracy. However, his hypothesis could only be generalized for Italy. This study broadened Putnam’s work by testing his theory in the South East Asia, a region far different from Europe. Data were collected through a national survey (N = 5,237), sampling youths aged from 15 to 25 years old. Reaffirming Putnam’s hypothesis, the study found a strong positive relationship between civic and political participation. The discussion highlighted the role of third sector organizations to promote civic activities, which require support from both public and private sectors.

A Factor Analysis of Malaysian Youth Lifestyle Domain

“…Most studies about youth and digital media focus on how the digital media could empower youth, particularly in the context of civic and political participation (Kirby et al, 2003, Reimer, 2003Valenzuela, Park & Kee, 2009;Zhang, Seltz & Richard, 2013;Xenosa, Vronen & Loader, 2014;Che Ching et al, 2018;Samsuddin et al, 2019;Che Ching, 2020). However, none of the studies puts youth lifestyle as one of the variables to be investigated.…”