Undi18 gets leave in legal bid to lower voting age in Malaysia

 

Eighteen youths obtained court leave to proceed with a legal bid to compel the government to lower the voting age in Malaysia by next month.

Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid today allowed the judicial review leave application by Young Voters Association (Undi18) to compel the government to implement the lowering of voting age from 21 to 18, by July this year.

This means that the court will later fix a date to hear the merits of the 18 youths' judicial review proper via submissions from all parties.

On April 2, Undi18 took the government to court over the postponement in the lowering of the voting age.

The postponement is likely to result in 1.2 million 18- to 20-year-olds unable to vote in the 15th general election if it is called this year.

This is despite the fact that constitutional amendments for it were gazetted into law in 2019.

However, later on May 2, Bernama reported Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and law) Takiyuddin Hassan as assuring that the policy would be implemented this year.

[More to follow] - Mkini