Ready to go: Draft bill to lower voting age to 18

The draft bill to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 is ready to be tabled in the present Dewan Rakyat sitting, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Hanipa Maidin today.

“I have been made aware that we have drafted the bill for the constitutional amendment.

“If there are no obstacles, there is a big chance it will be amended in the ongoing Parliament sitting,” he said during his speech to launch the “Constitutional Carnival” organised by Universiti Malaya’s Law Faculty.

He explained that the change would require amending Article 119 of the Federal Constitution, which in turn could only be done if two-thirds of MPs voted for the amendment.

Hanipa added that Pakatan Harapan is aiming for a second constitutional amendment in the present sitting - to change Article 1(2) of the constitution to restore Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners with Malaya. 

The deputy minister thus hoped opposition MPs would support both bills.

“Both these amendments involve issues of common interest. I believe that opposition politicians, especially those from Sabah and Sarawak, won’t have a problem to support our amendments,” he said.

In the dark about RCI

Meanwhile, Hanipa said he was in the dark about the terms of reference or the commencement date of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the judiciary.

As a deputy minister, he said he was not privy to cabinet discussions.

Hanipa directed questions about the RCI to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“The terms of reference have to be agreed by the PM, so the best person for you to ask is the PM,” he said when asked after the event.

Mahathir announced in February that the government will establish an RCI to probe claims of judicial misconduct revealed by Court of Appeal judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer. 

The allegations included instances of judicial interference and a plot by members of the judiciary to defraud the government.  - Mkini