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KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 — The Youth wing (Armada) of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), Umno and DAP leaders today took Dewan Negara Speaker Tan Sri Rais Yatim to task, chiding him over his recent remark on Undi 18.
Armada chief Mohd Ashraf Mustaqim Badrul Munir said the wing fully supports Undi 18, as it is important for youths to be given the rights to vote.
In 2019, Putrajaya’s bid to amend the Federal Constitution to lower the voting age to 18 years old was met with resounding success with unanimous backing from the Opposition bloc and government backbenchers.
The Bill, which also includes automatic voter registration and allowing 18-year-olds to contest in elections created history for the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration when it was in power as it was the first successful constitutional amendment that received support from both sides of the political divide.
“Armada hopes all processes involving this are studied well to ensure the implementation of Undi 18 goes on smoothly.
“Tan Sri Rais is the Dewan Negara Speaker, and not a representative of the Election Commission (EC) or an individual involved in the government. Hence, the slander against the government on the implementation of Undi 18 is a fallacy to create a negative sentiment against the government,” Mohd Ashraf added.
In an interview with national news agency Bernama TV yesterday, Rais reportedly said that he believes it is not practical to lower the voting age to 18 at the moment as this involves various agencies including the EC and the National Registration Department (NRD) and would be too time-consuming.
He had previously also disputed the readiness of 18-year-olds to vote, saying that teenagers are not yet mature or educated enough to do so.
Umno information chief Shahril Sufian Hamdan also criticised Rais via Twitter, over his remark.
“This is ridiculous. How to face the public with this? Credibility down the drain for anyone who so blatantly moves the goalposts just because you think opponents are favourites to score. If you are worried, compete again. Win/lose with dignity,” he said, challenging for a re-election.
Former Umno president and Pekan MP Datuk Seri Najib Razak also joined the cohort, saying that the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government is not keen on Undi 18, as its leaders are aware of the seething anger among the majority of the young voters towards the administration.
“However, the Undi 18 Bill was passed unanimously by all MPs in July 2019 and we were informed that this would come into force at the latest, two years later. That is July 2021, which is close.
“Therefore, the PN government is trapped and is still thinking if it wants to enforce Undi 18 or otherwise, as if it does not enforce it, this would be the biggest insult to the Parliament and the democratic process,” he said.
DAP’s Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim meanwhile, called on the Dewan Rakyat to criticise Rais over his remark during the interview, and urged the government to implement what was passed in Parliament.
He branded Rais’ remark as “irresponsible, irrational, an insult to the youths and an insult to the Parliament”.
“The narrow-minded thought that youths are not prepared, shows that Rais Yatim clearly does not understand the sentiments of majority Malaysians and does not know about youths.
“This is very saddening for a veteran political leader who is also the Dewan Negara Speaker,” he said, reminding Rais that both the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara already passed the said Bill.
He also urged Rais to respect the “will of the Parliament”, and not issue haphazard statements viewed as an insult to the Parliament.
“Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun, who was among the mover of Undi 18 when he was the EC chairman, must criticise his colleague in the Dewan Negara, and as a representative of the Dewan Rakyat, urge the government to immediately enforce the will of the Parliament without any delay,” Sim added.