THOUGH there have been meaningful changes to the country’s electoral system, there is still room for improvement, said its deputy chairman Dr Azmi Sharom.
“Some positive changes include lowering the voting age in Malaysia (Undi-18) and the automatic voter registration.
“But there is still room for improvement. For example, there is malapportionment in some electoral constituencies.
“Perlis has three parliament seats despite being the smallest state and with a small population, while Petaling Jaya which has among the largest urban population, only has one seat,” he said at the annual Aliran fund raising dinner in Penang.
He said Selangor and Terengganu were among the states with under representation in terms of elected representatives.
He also revealed that a study by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) revealed that public trust in the EC was about 60%, which he described as ‘not bad’.
“But like I said, there is always room for improvement,”.
Meanwhile, Aliran president Anil Netto spoke about the need to uphold human rights and to extend it to many foreigners living alongside the average Malaysian.
He said that during the recent floods in Selangor, it was the foreign workers, who were among the first to lend a helping hand to those affected by the rising waters.
Aliran, which was launched in 1977, was a pioneering national reform movement, spearheaded by academics and activists and today it is the backbone of non-governmental organisation activism.
Present were its past presidents - its longest serving president P. Ramakrishnan, who had attended the event despite poor health, Xavierian Dr Francis Loh, academic Dr Ariffin Omar and activist Dr Prema Devaraj, who is the daughter of Penang Hospice Care founder Datuk Seri Dr T. Devaraj. - February 23, 2025. - February 23, 2025.
