LOWERING Malaysia’s voting age from 21 to 18 increase the total number of voters to more than 50% of the country’s population, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui Keong said.

“If Pakatan Harapan completes a five year term, in 2023 when the next general elections come around, we will have 3.8 million in addition to the 15 million registered now.

“The total number of voters will 18.8 million voters, out of a population of 32 million which is more than 50% of the population,” he said at a press conference in Petaling Jaya today.

Liew will table the bill to lower the country’s voting age will at the second sitting of the second term of Parliament that starts this Monday.

“This is the single most important historical development since Merdeka,” he said.

He urged all Pakatan Harapan MPs to be present in the Dewan Rakyat when it reconvenes this Monday, as they need a two-thirds majority vote to make the constitutional amendment.

PH and allies Parti Warisan Sabah and Upko have 139 votes in total, still nine votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to amend the constitution.

He also urged opposition and independent MPs to see the benefits of the bill and support it. 

“We hope Barisan Nasional, PAS, and Gabungan Parti Sarawak and independents can vote to pass this,” he said. 

If Malaysia passes this law, Singapore will remain the only country in Asean with the voting age at 21. 

Regionally, Malaysia and Singapore are the only countries in Asean which restrict the voting age to 21.

All others are set at 18, while Indonesia allows citizens 17 year of age to vote.

Globally, Malaysia lags even further behind – around 90% of democracies allow 18-year-old youths to vote. Some countries have even allowed or have embarked on serious conversations on lowering the voting age to 16. – June 29, 2019.