POLITICAL parties at a closed door dialogue today were receptive to the proposal to lower the voting age to 18, Election Commission chairman Azhar Azizan Harun said.

None of them objected to the proposal at his dialogue with 32 political parties, including PAS and Umno.

“We did not have any disagreements to lowering the voting age to 18,” he told reporters after the dialogue.

He said implementation, however, will take time despite the agreement of all parties, as it required going through a parliamentary process to change the law and Federal Constitution.

“This meeting was not for any decision making, but rather to discuss the issues at hand.” he said.

Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq had earlier said the cabinet had previously agreed to constitutional amendments to lower the voting age from 21 to 18.

Syed Saddiq said before Parliament could amend the constitution, a parliamentary select committee comprising MPs from both sides of the political divide should be set up to obtain support for a lower voting age and to work on other issues affecting young people. – October 31, 2018.