By Zareef Muzammil
SHAH ALAM, March 30 — The postponement of lowering the minimum voting age and implementing automatic voter registration (Undi18) proves that the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government has no political will to change for the better.
Selangor Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said the matter should not be postponed as it was not rushed and had been discussed since 2018 before it was approved in July 2019.
“That is why I place great emphasis on political will (iltizam politik). If the government has the desire, they will definitely mobilise agencies such as the EC (Election Commission) to implement it.
“But if it is not there, then that is why it is delayed (Undi18). If you want, it can be done for various reasons and vice versa,” he said after launching the Infaq Ramadan Fund at a restaurant in the Shah Alam Lake, here last night.
Amirudin explained that Undi18 should be implemented in line with the spirit of democracy and the EC should have a plan of when and how to implement it.
The commission recently announced that Undi18, which was scheduled to start in July, was postponed to September 1 next year.
On July 16, 2019, Parliament had unanimously passed the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019 to lower the voting age to 18, allow automatic voter registration, and making 18 the minimum age for elected representatives.
The Bill was passed in the Dewan Negara on July 25, 2019, with a two-thirds majority.
