KUALA LUMPUR – The Election Commission’s (EC) decision to postpone the automatic voter registration and lowering of voting age to 18 (Undi18) has irked even those from the cabinet.
Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the decision was extremely regrettable and unacceptable, especially seeing that the amendments had obtained full support from the upper and lower houses in Parliament in July 2019.
Khairy, who previously held the posts of youth and sports minister and Umno youth chief, said the EC statement yesterday contradicts the affirmation provided by the electoral body in June last year that the implementation will take place by July 2021.
“It must be reminded that the EC’s statement last year is also only a reaffirmation of the one issued by former law minister Datuk Liew Vui Keong in October 2019, who had set July this year for the implementation,” he said in a statement.
Khairy also pointed out that Undi18 and automatic registration was not aspired to only by the former Pakatan Harapan government, noting that the matter was agreed to by all political parties and MPs across the aisle when it was put to vote in Parliament about two years ago.
Yesterday, EC chairman Datuk Abdul Ghani Salleh announced that the implementation can only be done after September 2022 due to constraints and issues affecting its plans and preparation.
He chiefly blamed the movement control order (MCO) for this, claiming also that the electoral body will prepare an interim report on the plan’s update by September this year.
Khairy said the excuse that the MCO has affected EC’s preparation was absurd considering the movement restrictions have been in place for over a year.
“In fact, the minister in charge of law (Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan) told the Dewan Rakyat last November that the target of July 2021 for Undi18 and automatic registration remained.”
In a separate statement, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican said the decision by the EC had only caused feelings of frustration and resentment, particularly among the youth.
He said that being one of the MPs who had voted for the amendments in July 2019, the delay was “very much regrettable”.
“I have said on many occasions that my stand and others in Parliament have not changed. We want to see a more inclusive democratic process given to the rakyat (by lowering the voting age).
“Voting is the right of all citizens and the guarantee given previously that Undi18 will be implemented is a huge commitment that must be shouldered by the EC.”
Reezal said that while he understood that there were components to the implementation that may require more time, such as automatic registration, the lowering of voting age and eligibility to contest at 18 must be implemented immediately.
“The EC should consider implementing these first. This will allow the democratic participation of the youth before automatic registration is enforced,” he said. – The Vibes, March 26, 2021
