PERIKATAN Nasional (PN) is likely delaying automatic voter registration and voting at age 18 due to weak government performance, said analysts.

“The young voter segment (below age 40) is the most volatile group and is a challenge to any ruling government,” said Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s Dr Mazlan Ali.

“They are generally anti-establishment and they are not tied to or are less loyal to any political party. As such, they are more likely to blame the ruling government and vote against it when they are unhappy,” said the political science lecturer.

Mazlan said this group of voters, particularly the 18-year-olds, are active social media users who are sensitive to current issues.

“They are well-informed about current issues, particularly those that affect them, such as the economy, education and job opportunities.”

Ordinarily, this group of voters would not be a problem, unless the government is performing badly, said Mazlan.

“But PN, of late, has been plagued by controversies such as the emergency order, alleged double standards (in its enforcement of Covid-19 SOP), poor economic management and its inability to provide better opportunities for young voters.

“Based on this, it’s possible that PN feels it has no control over the 18-year-olds, leading to the delay in implementing Undi18 and automatic voter registration.”

Mazlan was commenting on the Election Commission’s statement on Thursday that it has postponed the implementation of Undi18 and automatic voter registration until after September 1, 2022.

Although the next election is not due till July 2023, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had promised to hold the next general election after the emergency order expires on August 1. If an election is held after that without Undi18, as many as 1.2 million 18-year-olds will not be able to vote in GE15.

The law on automatic voter registration and voting for 18-year-olds was passed by Parliament in a historic bipartisan vote on July 25, 2019.

The original timeframe for its implementation was to be by July this year, and this was even promised by the PN government, with de facto law minister Takiyuddin Hassan reiterating the July 2021 deadline in several parliamentary written answers.

Just before the EC’s announcement on the delay, however, reservations were expressed by PN government figures, such as Dewan Negara president and Bersatu leader Dr Rais Yatim, as well as Bersatu youth chief Wan Ahmad Wan Fayhsal, who is also deputy youth and sports minister.

Universiti Malaya’s Prof Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi also believes the delay is due to PN’s weak governance.

“They are still grappling with economic issues, the loss of employment and companies closing as a result of the various Covid-19 lockdowns. Added to the lack of investments and vaccination issues, PN doesn’t want to deal with more uncertainty.

“Going into fresh elections with a bigger bloc of younger voters will only complicate matters for Muhyiddin,” said Awang Azman.

As such, the political science lecturer said it was better to delay the implementation of automatic voter registration and Undi18 to after the elections.

A recent online survey by Institut Darul Ehsan showed how poorly the younger set felt towards the PN government.

In the February 19-28 survey involving 8,352 respondents, 62% of them, aged 21-29, said they were dissatisfied with PN’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Similarly, 65% of those aged between 30-39 said they too were dissatisfied with the government.

As for those above age 66, 88% said they were unhappy with PN in its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. – March 27, 2021.