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Rais under attack after ‘speaking for EC’

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PKR deputy information chief G Manivannan says it is for the EC to raise issues on Undi-18, PPBM Youth says it’s Rais Yatim’s own view.

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Free Malaysia Today
The Dewan Negara, which Rais Yatim heads, passed the Undi 18 law in July 2019 and it is now up to the Election Commission to decide on its implementation, says G Manivannan.

PETALING JAYA:
Dewan Negara president Rais Yatim has no right to issue statements on behalf of the Election Commission (EC) over the decision to lower the voting age to 18 and it is shocking and premature of him to do so, a PKR leader and PPBM Youth said.

PKR deputy information chief G Manivannan said Rais should not be pre-empting the EC, even if it was facing technical problems.

“For a person who is not within the circles of the EC to make such a statement creates uneasiness.

“If there are any prevailing issues, EC should be highlighting the issues, not Rais,” the lawyer said in a statement, adding that the separation of powers had to be respected.

PPBM Youth, meanwhile, said Rais’ remarks were his own views and did not represent the views of the government.

The youth wing of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s party maintained that it had always supported lowering the voting age, adding that Rais had no standing to announce anything on the matter as he did not represent the EC.

“We view Rais’ statement as his own personal view which clearly does not represent the government,” said PPBM Youth information chief Mohd Ashraf Mustaqim Badrul Munir.

The Undi 18 bill, officially known as Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019, was passed by the Dewan Negara in July 2019 and gazetted two months later. The amendment lowers the voting age from 21 to 18.

Rais had said it was impractical to lower the voting age to 18 for now because of time-consuming obstructions faced by the relevant agencies in implementing it.

He said this would involve the resources of both the National Registration Department and the EC.

“On the issue of 18-year-olds voting, whether we can implement it now, the answer is no. Although it has been passed in terms of the legislature, in terms of readiness there are many gaps,” Rais was quoted as saying.

However, Manivannan said it was up to the EC to decide on the issue but “coming out with such a statement even before the EC can do so, causes one to ask if the governing coalition will be manipulating the EC’s decisions in the future”.

Previously, the EC had said the implementation of the 18-year-old voting age and automatic voter registration would be implemented from July this year.

Manivannan, the ex-Kapar MP, said the PN coalition may have realised that lowering the voting age may not benefit them in the coming election.

“The PN government may have realised the consequences if they allow the younger generation to vote. Therefore, they may have come up with a reason to deny the democratic rights of the younger generation to vote,” he added.

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