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4.2 million yet to register as voters

This is about 22% of all Malaysians currently eligible to vote.

Bernama
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The election in Sabah will be held on Sept 16. Photo: Bernama
The election in Sabah will be held on Sept 16. Photo: Bernama

A total of 4.2 million people aged 21 and above who are eligible to vote have yet to register as voters, the Dewan Negara was told today.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Shabudin Yahaya said the figure represents 22% of the total number of Malaysians who are currently eligible to vote.

“This figure does not bode well for the development of the electoral roll.

“Currently, the number of voters who are 21 years old and above is about 15 million. When we implement the voting at 18 system, we will add another six to seven million voters,” he said during question time.

He was responding to Ismail Yusop about the measures taken by the government to empower new voters ahead of the move to implement voting at the age of 18.

Shabudin said the Election Commission (EC) should not be responsible for raising awareness about the issue.

Instead, he said, it was the responsibility of all, including NGOs and political parties.

He said the government, specifically the EC, had carried out campaigns and programmes including an online voter registration programme via https://mysprdaftar.spr.gov.my launched on July 18 last year, which received a good response, especially from young voters.

The EC is also in the midst of preparing for the implementation of the lower voting age as well as automatic voter registration in accordance with the amendments to Article 119 (4) of the Federal Constitution which had been passed by the Parliament, he added.