KUCHING: The government has been urged to start educating school children on the constitution, voting rights and democracy, said Sarawak Patriots Association (SPA) president Datuk John Lau Pang Heng.
He felt that the younger generation should be educated from Form One onwards, to make them competent in political matters by the time they are in Form Six.
The SPA president said this in light of the government’s historical moment of total bipartisanship in approving the lowering of the minimum voting age to 18.
“An informed voter will be able to make the right decision to vote for the right candidates for the law-making bodies of our nation,” Lau elaborated.
He also commended the automatic registration of voters.
“This is definitely a good move as many potential voters in Sarawak are not registered,” he said, attributing it to issues related to infrastructure and Internet accessibility in the rural areas.
“Automatic voter registration will solve this problem and the government will save money spent on manually registering voters,” Lau said.
He reflected on this milestone in the Malaysian electoral system, adding that it shows maturity in that the members of parliament put aside their political differences for the good of the country.
SPA called on the federal government to do the same in restoring equal rights for Malaya, Sarawak and Sabah under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), adding that prior to amending the Federal Constitution, consultation should be made by the federal government with the governments of Sarawak and Sabah.
