Abstract: This paper explores the changing trend in citizenship
norms among young citizens from various ethnic groups in Malaysia
and the extent to which it influences the participation of young
citizens in political and civil issues. Embedded in democratic
constitutions are the rights and freedoms that accompany citizenship,
and these rights and freedoms include participation. Participation in
democracies should go beyond voting; it should include taking part in
the governance process. The political process is not at risk even
though politics does not work as it did in the past. A national sample
of 1697 respondents between the ages of 21 and 40 years were
interviewed in January 2011. The findings show that respondents
embrace an engaged-citizenship norm more than they do the
traditional duty-citizen norm. Among the ethnic groups, the Chinese
show lower means in both citizenship norms compared with other
ethnic groups, namely, the Malays and the Indians. The duty-citizen
norm correlates higher with political participation than with civic
participation. On the other hand, the engaged-citizen norm correlates
higher with civic participation than with political participation.