Fahmi Fadzil: Register voters automatically
Kenneth Tee
Malay Mail3 October 2018
Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil speaks to reporters during a press conference in Port Dickson October 3, 2018. — Picture by Miera ZulyanaMore
PORT DICKSON, Oct 3 — Putrajaya should make the Election Commission (EC) automatically enrol qualified Malaysians as voters, Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil suggested today.
The PKR communications director noted that political parties and election candidates depended on the electoral roll to identify potential supporters, and said many eligible voters were left out as they have not registered with the EC.
He explained that electoral reforms should include adding those eligible to the electoral roll as well as removing those who should not be listed in the registry.
“We do not want those who do not have voting rights to cast their ballots and we want those who do to perform their civic duties,” he said during a press conference at the Pakatan Harapan (PH) operations centre here.
EC chairman Azhar Harun previously said his first objective was to change the public’s perception of the commission by cleaning up the electoral roll.
Azhar said the roll continued to be haunted by perennial issues such as the retention of dubious voters such as those well over 100 years old.
In the same vein, Fahmi said there was a 105-year-old voter born in 1913 and residing in Port Dickson whose current status was unknown.
Acknowledging that such reforms will not be in time for the Port Dickson by-election on October 13, he said the EC must still consider such reforms.
“We at PKR are ready to assist and cooperate with the EC to implement its reforms,” he said.
Seven candidates are contesting the Port Dickson by-election: PKR’s Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, PAS’s Lt Col (Rtd) Mohd Nazari Mokhtar, and five Independent candidates including former mentri besar Tan Sri Isa Samad and Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, the former political aide behind Sodomy II.
