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IPOH, March 26 — Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s youth wing today expressed its disappointment over the Election Commission’s (EC) decision to delay the lowering of the voting age to 18 dubbed as Undi18 from July 2021 to September 2022.
Its chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal said that the lowering of voter’s age limit from 21 to 18 should be implemented as planned, but also defended the EC by saying that the latter needs time to implement the matter.
“However, the wing understands that the EC needs to look into the most appropriate method to ensure that the admission of new voters aged 18 to 21 is done well so that there is no confusion on polling day.
“The wing is also ready to extend cooperation to all government agencies involved in order to expedite the process,” he said in a statement.
Wan Ahmad Fayhsal also said that the concerted efforts of all targeted parties must be accompanied by political commitment or political will.
This he said to ensure that the implementation of the aspirations of Undi18 becomes a reality.
“A comprehensive plan on the implementation of Undi18 must also be immediately presented to the public to ensure a check and balance process,” he added.
Yesterday, the EC announced that the lowering of the voting age to 18 and the accompanying automatic voter registration will not be implemented this year as scheduled.
The commission blamed the Covid-19 pandemic for causing delays to its implementation of the initiative that was unanimously approved by Parliament in 2019.
The EC said it needed to evaluate new obstacles and persisting issues as well account for the various movement control orders (MCO) that are in place.