By Syauqi Jamil
PUTRAJAYA: Electoral Reform Committee (ERC) will be conducting a study on whether the Election Commission (EC) should take over Registrar of Societies (RoS) role of political parties registration.
Chairman Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman said the move will allow EC to also keep all political parties in check and to toe the line.
“EC could have the power to register political parties, on top of monitoring them. We’re looking into that,” he said today in a press conference.
The idea will be a part of the 15 point list of reforms that the ERC plans to conduct thorough research on in the next two years before concluding them as recommendations.
Among others, ERC will also be reviewing matters including election funding mechanisms, revamping the Election Commission (EC) and whether Malaysia should move away from the first-past-the-post voting system.
Abdul Rashid said that the committee will also be studying on the heated debate of changing voters eligibility age from 21 years old to 18, auto registration for voters as well as all giving EC enforcement powers.
“This will all be studied beforehand. Then we will recommend. All subject will be covered,” said Abdul Rashid who is also the former EC chairman.
Previously, the Prime Minister’s Office in August had announced that ERC will be set up to conduct studies on existing election laws and systems before making recommendations on electoral reforms.
Besides Abdul Rashid, other members in the committee include National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) chairman Wan Saiful Wan Jan and Institut Darul Ehsan’s deputy chairman Redzuan Othman.
