IT is impractical to lower the voting age to 18 for now because it will take too much time and resources, Dewan Negara president Rais Yatim said.

It will take time to identify the 18-year-olds who are eligible to vote and their constituencies, he told Bernama yesterday night.

He said the exercise would take up the resources of both the National Registration Department and the Election Commission (EC).

“On the issue of 18-year-olds voting, whether we can implement it now, the answer is no. Although it has been passed in terms of the legislature, in terms of readiness there are many gaps.

“After looking at the real situation from the lens of the Dewan Negara, it’s impractical to be implemented in this season,” he said.

The Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019 to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 passed the Dewan Negara in July 2019 and was gazetted two months later. 

The EC had said previously that the law as well as the new automatic voter registration would be implemented in July  – March 11, 2021.