Wan Fayhsal: I have not wavered in support of Undi 18
Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal said his statement about the need to educate voters should not be construed as him wavering in his support for lowering the voting age from 21 to 18.
This is after a report, citing his comment during an online dialogue on the Clubhouse app, said Wan Fayhsal appeared to think that those aged 18 to 20 are not yet ready to vote...
- UPDATED 3.55PM | Added statements from Abim and Bersih 2.0.
Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal said his statement on the need to educate voters should not be construed as him wavering in support for lowering the voting age from 21 to 18.
This was after a report, citing his comment during an online dialogue on the Clubhouse app, said Wan Fayhsal appeared to think that those aged 18 to 20 were not yet ready to vote.
"It is important to note that this was never my intention. However, I did express my concern and firm belief that with rights also come responsibilities. The right to vote necessarily comes with the moral duty to do so judiciously," he said in a statement.
Wan Fayhsal added that this did not mean that he was withdrawing support for the Undi 18 initiative.
"Again, I would like to state that my unequivocal support for Undi 18 remains as steadfast today as it was two years ago. Let the public records reflect that without any qualification," said the deputy youth and sports minister.
In the past, Wan Fayhsal said he also expressed a similar position.
"In a constitutional monarchy and such parliamentary democracy as ours, voter education programmes should rightfully cover subjects such as the supremacy of our federal and state constitutions, the rule of law, the role of the monarchs as our guide, as well as the indispensable purpose of democracy to safeguard our sovereignty as a proud and independent nation.
"Our democracy relies heavily on the ability of our citizenry to make informed decisions based on established facts instead of speculation and extrapolation. Our media has a role to play in providing true and fair reporting to our civil society," he added.
The Federal Constitution was amended in 2019 to lower the voting age from 21 to 18.
The implementation is supposed to take effect in June when automatic voter registration would also be introduced.
However, in the lead up to the implementation, there are now efforts to stonewall the initiative, including from Wan Fayhsal's own party.
Dewan Negara speaker Rais Yatim, who is from Bersatu, claimed those aged 18 to 20 were "not yet ready" for their democratic right.
Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan has criticised the pushback.
He said the matter had been debated and approved in Parliament and there should not be a change in position simply because the potential young voters are not supportive of certain parties.
"Young political leaders must think beyond short term consideration. Stopping Undi 18 now may help (certain parties) to survive the 15th general election, but they (young voters) won't forget during the 16th general election (when they come of age to vote)," he said on Twitter.
He stressed that the young generation should be given the right to decide their own future.
"Be a gentleman and let what had been agreed upon to proceed," he added.
Meanwhile, the Muslim Youth Movement Malaysia (Abim) reiterated that there were no solid arguments from any party to deny Malaysians who are 18 years old from voting in the 15th general election as supported by a majority of lawmakers on both sides of the divide in Parliament.
Abim president Muhammad Faisal Abdul Aziz noted that data from batchgeo.com showed that 86 percent of countries in the world had lowered the voting age to 18.
"This does not include Indonesia and Timor Leste which allow citizens of 17 years old to vote, while 16 other countries in the world put the minimum age of voting at 16," he said in a statement.
Faisal urged the Election Commission to present to the public the latest report on the implementation of minimum voting age to ensure that young people are allowed to participate in the general election.
On the other hand, the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) urged the government to gazette the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019 immediately.
It said the seemingly flip-flop statements by government politicians show that it does not take the Dewan Rakyat's decision seriously.
"The constitutional amendment was previously supported by 211 out of 222 MPs in the Dewan Rakyat. Delaying the process of gazetting the Undi 18 Bill is denying the will of the Dewan Rakyat.
"Flip-flop statements by politicians, such as Wan Fayhsal and Rais, who hold key positions in the government only goes to show that the Perikatan Nasional government does not take the decision of the Dewan Rakyat seriously," the Bersih 2.0 steering committee said in a statement.
