Senator Alan Ling
MIRI (Mar 28): Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sarawak today slammed the Election Commission (EC) last week’s announcement to postpone the implementation of Undi18, saying the decision was an insult to the people, in particularly the younger voters.
PH Sarawak secretary Senator Alan Ling Sie Kiong in a statement today said the reason given by EC that contributed to the delay in the implementation of Undi18 was nonetheless a “lame excuse”.
“The EC ought to carry out its constitutional duty and by giving such excuse that cause the delay, EC had insulted the intelligence of the voters and the parliament’s institution,” Ling lamented.
He pointed out that such unwarranted delay shows disregard of youths as equal and valuable participants in Malaysia’s democracy.
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“Movement Control Order (MCO) should not be used as reason for the delay, in fact during MCO period is the best time for EC to complete its preparations as many works can still be carried out and that data are accessible by technology means,” he said.
He said the Dewan Rakyat passed the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019, which reduces the voting age in national and state elections from the current 21 years to 18 years.
Ling said the Bill received 211 votes—the number of members present for the vote—surpassing the two-thirds majority required for constitutional amendments in the 222-member house and passed in the Dewan Negara (House of Senate) in July 2019.
“The EC should respect and uphold the federal constitution and the decision made by the Parliament,” he said.
He claimed that one reason that may contribute to the delay was that the ruling federal government under Perikatan Nasional (PN) fear of the new young voters that will cause severe electoral impact on the coalition.
“Fear of losing the power is the main cause for such delay and EC has proven to lose is impartiality. EC is either merely incompetent or having hidden agenda in wanting to protect of the ruling government, which is PN,” said Ling.
The EC on Thursday (March 25) announced the postponement of the implementation of the Undi18 bill, which was supposed to start in July 2021 to September 1, 2022.
The announcement had since received many backlash from various political parties and organisations.
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