Dr M 'puzzled' by EC's decision to postpone Undi18

 

Former prime minister and Langkawi MP Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he is baffled by the Election Commission's (EC) decision to postpone Undi18 and automatic voters registration until after September next year.

Utusan Malaysia quoted Mahathir (above) as saying that in this era of Big Data, he is puzzled by the EC's difficulty to implement Undi18.

"These days it's so easy to collect data. We already have Big Data. We know how many are eligible to vote, their age, their location. These data are all recorded.

"So I don't know what the (EC's) problem to enable those aged 18 to vote," he told the media in Langkawi today.

In 2019, the Dewan Rakyat had unanimously voted to implement Undi18, and the constitution was amended in the same year.

In November 2020, de facto Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan promised that Undi18 would be implemented by July this year.

EC, in its recent announcement, cited movement control order as the reason for the delay.

In his latest comment on the Undi18 implementation, Takiyuddin said the EC should be given more time to prepare for the automatic voter registration and Undi18 as it has to undergo several procedures, including the engagement with the National Registration Department.

According to the EC, there are about 1.2 million youths aged 18 to 20.

Critics expressed worry that the youth aged between 18 and 20 will not get the chance to vote as speculations were rife that the election would take place this year after the emergency order lifted in August.

However, Senior Minister Azmin Ali had quashed the speculations, claiming that the election will be held in 2023 and that the PN government fully supports Undi18. - Mkini