Elections Act should be amended for Undi 18 to be carried out, says Dewan Negara president

The Elections Act 1958 (Act 19) should be amended first so that the move to lower the voting age to 18 can be implemented, says Dewan Negara president Rais Yatim.

“When there is a proposal for people aged 18 to become an automatic voter, then the act should also be amended, but it is not amended (and) the rules under the Election Offences Act are also not amended.

“Even though the constitution has been amended under Article 48, for example, it still cannot be carried out because the avenue is not provided. So even though the constitution has been amended, there is no infrastructure through election laws,” he said after an event in Banting yesterday.

Rais also said the general election committee had left out something basic, namely the basis of rules and laws incidental to the constitutional amendments made.

“The law is the main question, and that must be implemented first. If not, the will of the people cannot be implemented.

“The law is not implemented at the infrastructure level, that is what I take seriously, therefore those who are 18 years old cannot be forced to automatically become voters,” he said.

Rais said for him, the effectiveness, benefits and risks of Undi 18 were about politics, but that the law should be implemented first.