Prepare for influx of 66pc voters under 30, Sarawak ruling party wings told

KUCHING, June 17 — Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) deputy president Datuk Douglas Uggah told the party's Youth and Women wings today to brace themselves for the coming general election, which will see a sharp rise in voters under age 30.

He said members must ensure that the party wins big in the national polls as it is critical to fulfilling Sarawak's state election manifesto for development.

“The Gabungan Parti Sarawak government will ensure that projects that have been planned and pledged in the election manifesto will be completed on schedule,” Uggah said at the joint opening of the two wings' triennial delegates convention here.

He called on the two wings to explain in the clearest terms the policies of the state's strategic development programmes to all party members so they can widen public feedback, including on projects that may not be working.

“We need the two wings to identify projects that are not constructed according to specifications or abandoned,” he said.

Uggah also told the two wings note that 66 per cent of the newly registered voters are within the 18 to 29 age group, and win their support.

“Their future must be with us, PBB. We must generate programmes that are suitable with their aspirations and tastes.

“Invite them to join PBB. We will form a movement for them in PBB,” he said.

He said Sarawak recorded 1,927,750 new voters as of December 31 last year , an increase of 675,077 voters.

“For the new voters, we see 20 per cent of them are aged 19-20 years old while 45 per cent are aged between 21 and 29 years old and 19.23 per cent are those aged 30 to 39 years old,” he said.

“This means that 66 per cent of the new voters are 18 to 29 years old, meaning the combined youth group aged 18 to 39 forms 75.23 per cent of the registered voters in Sarawak.”

He also told the two wings that PBB is not just a political party, but a leadership institution that has been proven in building leaders of calibre.

Uggah said PBB is a political party that is known for its of organisational structure, including in preparing the next level of leaders to continue with the party's struggle.