ISEAS Visiting Fellows, Dr Iim Halimatusa’diyah, Dr Syaza Shukri, and Dr Panarat Anamwathana examined the civic and political attitudes of youth in Southeast Asia.
REGIONAL SOCIAL AND CULTURAL STUDIES PROGRAMME HYBRID SEMINAR
Tuesday, 30 January 2024 – The ISEAS – Yusof Ishak held a seminar titled “Youth and Civic Engagement in Southeast Asia.” Moderated by Dr Norshahril Saat, Senior Fellow and Coordinator of the Regional Social and Cultural Studies Programme at ISEAS, the seminar featured the insights of Visiting Fellows Dr Iim Halimatusa’diyah (Islamic State University Syarif Hidayatullah), Dr Syaza Shukri (International Islamic University Malaysia), and Dr Panarat Anamwathana (Thammasat University). The panelists explored youth activism in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, examining how students across different age groups – ranging from high school to tertiary education – elucidate and respond to their perceived concerns.
Professor Halimatusadiyah spoke on the dynamic relationship between offline and online youth activism, zooming into Indonesia as a case study for this relationship. Looking particularly at digital activism via slacktivism – defined as “online support without the intention or willingness to put forth significant effort in pursuit of social change (Kristofferson et al., 2013)”, she examined how slacktivism could be both positive and negative. On the one hand, slacktivism could lead to more sustained engagement, while on the other, it could be detrimental to broader socio-political activism if motivated by self-presentation.
Predicated on this, her research was thus organised to understand the relationship between youth online and offline political activism, and the conditions to which the former would lead to the latter. Based on her findings, she found that Indonesian youths who were engaged in online activism were indeed more likely to be actively involved offline as well. In particular, youths with higher levels of bonding social capital, as well as those involved in environmental and humanitarian organisations were more likely to partake in activities like signing petitions. Further, those who engaged in online petitions were also more likely to do so offline.
Zooming into two case studies, the 2019 University Students’ Demonstrations and the present boycott of Israeli products, Professor Halimatusadiyah showed how online activism – as shown through the use of hashtags like #ReformasiDikorupsi contributed to widespread social awareness of the issue and also translated into offline political action in the form of protests.
Next, Dr Syaza Shukri presented on youth conservatism and political socialisation in Malaysia. Her study was motivated by youth votes in Malaysia’s 2022 election, which showed how many of them voted for PN, along with the belief that religion – specifically Islam – and politics / public life should mix (as elucidated by Merdeka Centre’s research). This opposes the hypothesis that youths are more progressive than their older counterparts, as would be expected based on the history of youth activism in Malaysia, which has seen increased youth-led initiatives on various platforms.
Based on these broad assumptions, she shared her findings from her focused group discussion with students in Islamic universities. Posting them the question on their reason for voting, and whether Islam features as a factor in their votes, youths expressed the idea that there was a need to vote “correctly.” Indeed, many articulated the need to stress religion in politics, expressing the need for Malaysia’s Muslim majority to govern based on Islam. Delving deeper to understand where students received these ideas from, Dr Shukri’s discussions revealed that family influence was a significant source. One sentiment amongst the interviewed youth was that their friends were either apolitical or set in their views, and hence discourse amongst them was not prevalent or influential. Conversely, family influence or pressure was fairly strong, and thus shaped their voting decisions more than their peers.
Lastly, in examining the potential impact of studying in Islamic universities, Dr Syaza found that being enrolled in a religious institution had a negligible impact on youths’ political choices, although some mentioned that university classes influenced the way viewed certain parties. Still, many expressed having a set political stance prior to their enrolment that remained unchanged by the curriculum, while others mentioned that not all lecturers espoused the same political view. Her findings showed that ultimately, family was still the most critical factor in providing the earliest context for youths’ political socialisation. As such, she concluded her presentation with the suggestion for more formal early education to help youths make more informed decisions.
Dr Panarat Anamwathana presented on Thai political participation through the voice of high school students. Highlighting the unprecedented nature of students as young as high school organising themselves for civic and political causes during the 2020-2022 period, Dr Anamwathana thus explained that her and her co-author’s research aimed to answer the question: What motivates high school students to participate in such protests?
She first gave an overview of the protest timeline. She raised several key political events prior to the protests, including General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s 2014 coup against then Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, the constitutional referendum in 2016, and the death of King Bhumibol in October 2016. These events came to a boil in 2020, with the disbandment of the youth-centric Future Forward Party, leading to the first wave of student protests occurred on university campuses in February. This spilled over into high school student-led rallied with the formation of groups like “Bad Student” in August 2020, which saw youths protest their strict school rules.
Dr Anamwathana followed with the results from her fieldwork involving responses from nearly 700 high school students. Getting students to explain their political stance to someone who might disagree with them as non-graded homework, her research found that following reasons emerged as the top reasons for joining or agreeing with protests: freedom of expression, flawed democracy, government inefficiency, poor education system, and rising inequality. Importantly, many students drew parallels between the rigid rules and hierarchical system in schools with that in the political system.
The seminar fielded various questions from the in-person and online audiences. Some of them pertained to whether Southeast Asian governments were ready to confront an increasingly vocal generation of youths, and how to allow for productive spaces in society for their views to be seen and heard. Others asked about the importance of parents in influencing their political views and behaviour, alongside a query on whether prioritising Islam could be necessarily separated from other values e.g. fighting corruption.