CONSTITUTIONAL amendments to let 18-year-olds vote and for automatic voter registration at the age of 18 were passed on July 16, 2019 with more than two-thirds of votes in Dewan Rakyat.

It was a historic moment of bipartisanship on both sides of the political divide.

The Undi18 bill, officially known as Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019 was tabled by the Pakatan Harapan government and received 211 votes in support of it. The Dewan Rakyat has 222 seats.

The passing of the bill means Article 119 (1), Article 119 (4) and Article 47 and the Eighth Schedule will be changed to enable 18-year-olds to vote and be automatically registered as voters, as well as qualifying them to contest as candidates for Parliament or state assemblies.

The act was subsequently approved by Dewan Negara on July 25, 2019, and gazetted on September 10, 2019, after receiving assent from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

At the time, the passing of the bill would allow 7.8 million youths between the ages of 18 and 21 to vote and be eligible to stand for elections, with their inclusion in the electoral rolls.

While it has been two years since the bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament, other election-related laws have not been amended to enable voting at 18 as well as automatic voter registration, as Parliament has been suspended due to the state of emergency announced to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

Despite the pressure from politicians from both sides of the divide to implement Undi18, the Election Commission announced yesterday that the initiative will only be implemented on September 1 next year, citing movement restrictions to fight the spread of Covid-19 as the reason.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin also refuted claims that his government was afraid to implement Undi18, saying instead that the government was being realistic in its implementation.

Despite getting bipartisan support for allowing 18-year-olds to vote, several politicians who had openly backed the move and voted to pass the Undi18 bill are now singing a different tune.

The Malaysian Insight takes a look at what they said then and what they are saying now.

Mohamed Azmin Ali, Bersatu, formerly with Pakatan Harapan and now international trade and industry minister.

July 17, 2019

“It (Undi18) will be the highlight of politics in Malaysia Baru and gives priority to mature, progressive and constructive politics centred on the people.”

March 26, 2021

“No one promised that the next election would be in 2020 or 2021.

“The Election Commission (EC) has already mentioned there is a delay due to the movement-control order (MCO) so do not blame us for the delay.

“Perikatan Nasional supports the great contribution of young people to democracy.”

Takiyuddin Hassan, PAS, minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and laws)

July 9, 2021

“We are waiting for the tabling of the amendment on July 16, if the government fulfils the three additional conditions, we will support, otherwise the opposition will submit a private motion.

“We will debate first before supporting, not continue to support without debate. The opposition welcomes this amendment.”

November 3, 2020 (in a written parliamentary reply)

“It is expected that all preparations will be completed within 18 to 24 months from the date of approval by the Senate on July 25 last year.

“EC held several engagement sessions with government departments and agencies, political parties from the opposition and government bloc, and civil societies as well as Sarawak and Sabah political parties.”

March 15, 2021

“The previous government had already amended Article 47 and Article 119 of the federal constitution and when the matter was amended, the EC had to take action.

“The EC is an independent commission and is fully in charge of the matter.”

Abdul Hadi Awang, PAS president and Marang MP

July 14, 2019

“It is our fault that the youths are not matured, not theirs.

“Many countries have lowered the voting age to 18, non-Muslim countries have set the voting age at 18, except Malaysia and Singapore who have set it at 21 in the region.”

March 26, 2021

“PAS agrees with the postponement by the Election Commission because it is important to have mature voters on the electoral roll.

“Voting must depend on maturity. It can happen at 16 years old, 18… it may even happen when you are 25 years old. There are some people who are 40 years old, but are still not mature.

“Most importantly, we want a mature rakyat that will pick a mature government. If the rakyat is immature, they will pick an immature government.”

Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal, Bersatu, deputy youth and sports minister

August 5, 2019

“Young people must also prove that age is not a measure of maturity in contributing to the country. So the next task demands that we provide a solid platform for them to vote.

“We do not want this change to the constitution to be seen as a populist act by the government, but rather as a mechanism towards building a more dynamic, balanced and inclusive nation.”

February 15, 2021

Wan Fayhsal was reported as saying on the Clubhouse social audio app that Malaysians are not ready to vote at 18 years old.

He said Malaysian youth are not ready to exercise the right to vote as some form of political education needs to be institutionalised first.

He has since said that his comments were misconstrued and that he fully supports Undi 18. – March 28, 2021.