A SARAWAK civil society group, Rise of Social Efforts (ROSE), said some 135,000 Sarawakians under the age of 18 have lost their right to vote in the coming state election now that the implementation of Undi18 and automatic voter registration (AVR) has been delayed.

Slamming the Election Commission’s (EC) decision to postpone allowing 18-year-olds to vote as well as AVR to September next year, ROSE coordinator Anne Teo called it “daylight robbery”

Implementation was supposed to be by July this year.

The Sarawak state election, however, is widely expected to be held just after the state of emergency ends on August 1.

Teo said it is difficult to understand the EC’s rationale in citing the movement-control order (MCO) against the spread of Covid-19 as the reason for the delay.

Any data streamlining work that may be necessary for the EC to do is all readily available from databases of the National Registration Department and other agencies, she added.

“It is the right of 18 to 20-year-olds to play a part in choosing the leaders of this country,” Teo said.

She said one consequence of the delay is that it would be a long time before any Sarawakian youth would be inspired to run for public office at the state level.

“As it is, only a mere and shameful 1.3% of the total Sarawak assemblymen are in the 40 years and below age group,” she said, citing ROSE statistics.

The Sarawak legislature has 82 seats – one currently vacant following the disqualification of Pujut assemblyman Dr Ting Tiong Choon over his dual citizenship.

Teo also said the 15th general election might also already be over if Undi18 is implemented by September next year. – March 27, 2021.