Gov't tables revised constitutional bill on lowering voting age
PARLIAMENT | A new version of the constitutional amendment bill to lower the voting age to 18 which incorporates automatic voter registration was tabled at the Dewan Rakyat today.
The new bill also seeks to amend Article 47 of the Federal Constitution to reduce the minimum age to be a member of the Dewan Rakyat from 21 to 18...
PARLIAMENT | A new version of the constitutional amendment bill to lower the voting age to 18 which incorporates automatic voter registration was tabled at the Dewan Rakyat today.
The new bill also seeks to amend Article 47 of the Federal Constitution to reduce the minimum age to be a member of the Dewan Rakyat from 21 to 18.
The Constitution (Amendment) Act 2019 tabled by Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman is expected to be debated at policy stage, its second reading, on July 16.
The original constitutional amendment bill, which only lowered the voting age to 18, was first tabled on July 3 for its first reading, but was withdrawn when the opposition indicated they would not support it.
The ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition requires two-thirds majority support in the Dewan Rakyat to pass the bill.
The opposition had set two conditions for their support of the constitutional amendment – imposing automatic voter registration and lowering the minimum age to be Dewan Rakyat representatives.
For the new bill, apart from seeking to amend Article 119(1) of the constitution to allow 18-year-olds to vote, the government also seeks to amend Article 119(4) to allow automatic voter registration.
The bill also introduces an amendment to the Eighth Schedule of the Federal Constitution, requiring state constitutions to lower the qualification age to be a member of the state assembles from 21 to 18.
Both the lowering of the voting age and automatic voter registration were contained in Harapan's election manifesto.
