[UPDATED] KL High Court to issue verdict on Undi18 judicial review Oct 21

KUALA LUMPUR – The high court here will deliver its decision on the Undi18 judicial review on October 21, after an application was filed to challenge the government’s late implementation of lowering the voting age from 21 to 18.

Lawyer Lim Wei Jiet – representing the 18 youth who filed the application on behalf of the Undi18 movement – said the date was fixed by the deputy registrar today.

“The decision was made before judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid during an online proceeding this morning.”

During the proceeding, counsels Shamsul Bolhassan, Azizan Md Arshad and Raja Shahril Anuar appeared for the respondents – former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the government and Election Commission (EC).

The Muda pro-tem vice-president told The Vibes that he is optimistic that the judge will reach the right decision.

“From Muda’s perspective, I would like to call upon the new prime minister, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, to do the right thing.

“He recently mentioned in his speech that his government will listen to the voices of the youth. What better way to hear the voices of the youth than to allow them the sacred right to vote in elections?

“This is a bipartisan matter that all parties should champion and embrace.”

Undi18 co-founder Tharma Pillai said he will adopt the wait-and-see approach and refrain from making any positive statement before the final verdict is issued.

“I think there is a decent chance, but anything can happen in a judicial review,” he told The Vibes.

“Our hope is that the judge will rule in favour of immediately implementing Undi18 and agree with the argument from our side that the postponement is illogical.

“In fact, the executive can immediately implement it and therefore, allow millions of individuals aged between 18 and 20 to start registering using current procedures.”

Should this judicial review succeed, about 1.2 million Malaysians aged between 18 and 20 will be able to vote for the first time in the history of the country.

In March, EC had announced that automatic voter registration and the lowering of the voting age can be implemented only after September 2022.

Its chairman, Datuk Abdul Ghani Salleh, said the decision came about after reviewing constraints and issues affecting the initial plans and preparation of the commission.

EC will also prepare an interim report on automatic voter registration and Undi18 by September this year, he added.

“It (the timeline) will be realised for the 15th general election in 2023.”

Based on the latest EC data, there are 5.6 million citizens aged 18 and above, of which 1.2 million are aged between 18 and 20. Around 4.4 million are aged 21 and above and eligible to vote, but have yet to register as voters.

The minimum voting age was previously lowered to 18 from 21 after the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019 was passed by the Dewan Rakyat on July 16, 2019, followed by approval by the Dewan Negara on July 25, 2019. – The Vibes, August 23, 2021