Umno Youth: Is ‘political agenda’ behind Undi18 delay?
Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki questioned if there was a “political agenda” behind the government’s move to delay lowering the voting age to 18 years old.
He also characterised it as an act of “disrespect” against the Dewan Rakyat given that every MP voted in favour of the constitutional amendments.
In an interview with Malaysiakini yesterday, Asyraf expressed...
Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki questioned if there was a “political agenda” behind the government’s move to delay lowering the voting age to 18 years old.
He also characterised it as an act of “disrespect” against the Dewan Rakyat given that every MP voted in favour of the constitutional amendments.
In an interview with Malaysiakini yesterday, Asyraf expressed disappointment over the Election Commission (EC)'s move.
“It’s as if there is a political agenda. This actually gives a wrong signal that the government does not respect what has been agreed upon at the highest level of the legislature - which is Parliament.
“This should not happen. It is really disappointing and we need to defend the rights of youths aged 18 and above because we promised in Parliament to implement it (lowering the voting age),” he said.
Asyraf said he was especially disappointed as there currently are top Perikatan Nasional (PN) leaders who were previously part of the Pakatan Harapan federal administration that had pushed for Undi18.
“To me, this is very disappointing because when Harapan was in power with Bersatu and PKR, Azmin Ali was with them.
“They showed that they were serious about it to convince all political parties about the need for Undi18 to be implemented.
“That was the first time we were able to vote on the basis of consensus. We set aside party interests and everyone supported it, giving it more than two-thirds (support),” he recalled.
Asyraf is a senator in the Dewan Negara.
Back in 2019, lawmakers from both sides of the political divide voted to amend the Federal Constitution to lower the voting and election candidacy age to 18. They also voted to implement automatic voter registration (AVR).
These changes were later gazetted into law on Sept 10 that year.
Earlier this week, the EC said the movement control order had “affected” its plans and preparations for lowering the voting age and implementing AVR.
It thus postponed the implementation to after Sept 1, 2022.
This means some 1.2 million Malaysians aged between 18 to 20 will not be able to vote if GE15 is called this year.
This contradicts de facto Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan’s statement that Undi18 would be implemented by July this year.
Meanwhile, Asyraf said Umno will continue to pressure PN to lower the voting age immediately.
“We will pressure the government to take immediate action.
“What was promised needs to be done based on the timeline we agreed to,” he said.
PN has faced intense criticism from youth groups, NGOs, and lawmakers from both sides of the political divide over the Undi18 delay.
The group behind the Undi18 movement has announced plans to seek a judicial review over the decision.
A protest against the postponement is also scheduled to be held this afternoon.
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