PUTRAJAYA: The recently approved amendment allowing for Malaysians aged 18 to vote and to also be eligible to stand for election, along with automatic voter registration, is not yet in force, said Election Commission (EC) chairman Azhar Azizan Harun yesterday.
This was because the enforcement date for the Bill had yet to be fixed and only when this was done, would the Bill be gazetted into law.
Azhar added that until the amendment came into force, voter registration must be undertaken the conventional way.
On Tuesday, a new page in the nation’s history was created when Parliament passed the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019 allowing for the changes.
Speaking at a press conference after the “Make A Change, Let’s Do It Together” forum organised by the commission here yesterday, Azhar said the enforcement date had yet to be fixed because the commission needed to address several matters such as voter address issues and the development of an automatic voter registration system.
“The commission needs data from at least three government agencies such as the National Registration Department, Prisons Department and Health Ministry, and such data need to be in sync with the commission’s system which had yet to be developed.
“Voter address issues need to be attended to beforehand to avoid problems with the automatic voter registration system,” he said.
Azhar added that the EC would provide updates on its readiness from time to time, in a bipartisan manner, explaining that when 100 percent readiness was achieved, he believed the enforcement date for the amendment would be fixed. – Bernama
