In a blog post today, Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak has said he believes that youths, who now make up half the voting population will back BN in the upcoming general election.
It is shameful for Salleh Said Keruak to be in a gung-ho mode on his confidence in garnering youths’ support whilst BN is denying the rights of some 4.1 million unregistered voters, majority being those around 21 years of age, to vote in the next election.
The Election Commission stated in March this year that a total of 4.1 million Malaysians who are eligible to vote have yet to register as voters. This figure represents a hefty 25% of the total 17.6 million eligible voters in the nation.
If BN is indeed so confident of getting the support of the youths, there is no reason for them to continue denying the rights of the 4.1 million unregistered voters to cast their votes in the next election, which may be held as early as October this year, according to some reports.
While the registration of new voters now will not be in time for an October-General-Election, the question is whether BN ready to implement the long-awaited automatic registration of voters, to enable more Malaysians, especially the youths, to vote in the next election?
Over the years, automatic registration of voters is made impossible in Malaysia, despite the implementation of the same in this borderless and IT era where everything is just one keyboard-click away.
In fact, the Election Commission system is already linked to National Registration Department, where the EC is tracing the accuracy of a voter’s address as in the voters’ registration form for every voter registration application. What are other impediments, apart from a true and sincere political will, for the implementation of automatic registration of voters system?
I suggest that Salleh Keruak should advise the Prime Minister, Najib Razak for the immediate implementation of automatic registration of voters system as he is so confident of the youth support for BN, as one of the main elements to save Najib in power.
However, I am more inclined towards believing Salleh Keruak will eventually expose his lack of confidence in defending his own statement, by continuing to deny the rights of the 4.1 million unregistered voters to vote in the next GE.