A NEW bill to lower voting age to 18 from 21 has been tabled for the first reading in the Dewan Rakyat today, after the previous bill was withdrawn yesterday.

The second and third readings of the bill tabled by the Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman will be on July 16.

Apart from lowering voting age, the new bill is seeking amendments to the Federal Constitution to allow for automatic voter registration.

Article 47(b), which states that the age qualification to become a member of the Dewan Rakyat is 21, will be amended to 18.

Additionally, the amendment to Article 119(1) will see the age of voters being lowered to 18 from 21.

Meanwhile, amendment to Clause 4 of the same article will replace the word “applying to be registered” with “registration”, allowing for automatic voter registration.

The previous bill tabled on July 3, was withdrawn yesterday.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad yesterday said the first reading of the bill did not take into account automatic registrations and the provisions for an election candidate, key demands the opposition made in exchange for its support.

“In the first reading, we did not include whether a voter’s name will be in automatically or whether they will have to register.

“The next one was (with regard) to election candidates.”

The opposition has given its commitment to support the bill once the two provisions are included. 

The bill, which calls for constitutional amendments, will need the support of at least two-thirds of lawmakers in the Dewan Rakyat.

The ruling Pakatan Harapan and its Sabah allies are nine short of the 148 votes required. – July 11, 2019.