Proposal to lower voting age to 18 for next Parliament meeting

Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman says he will table a proposal to lower the voting age in June or July. (Bernama pic)

SHAH ALAM: A proposal to amend the Federal Constitution to lower the voting age from 21 years to 18 years will be brought up at the next parliamentary meeting.

Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said he would be tabling the proposal for debate.

“The Cabinet has agreed for the proposal to be brought up at the next meeting of Parliament in June or July,” he told reporters after delivering a keynote address at the Rise of the Asian Tiger Convention at Universiti Teknologi MARA here today.

In his keynote address, Syed Saddiq said youths should be bolder in thinking out of the box and not be afraid to take up challenges.

“The nation’s effort to return as an ‘Asian tiger’ will not be successful if our level of thinking does not change or if we are afraid to try something new.

“In the past, when Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad wanted to build Putrajaya, many protested … similarly, when KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport) was proposed,” he said.

He also gave the example of the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA), which did not go well with many who thought it was the “toy” of the rich.

“But now we see many Malaysian companies succeeding in placing themselves in the defence industry worth billions of ringgit,” he said. - FMT