KUCHING, Oct 18: Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen urges the Sarawak government not to hold the 12th Sarawak Election (PRN12) before the implementation of Undi18 and Automatic-Voters Registration (AVR), scheduled to be implemented by December 31, 2021.
He believed any attempts to hold PRN12 early before Undi18 and AVR were implemented is a direct act of “voter suppression” and an attempt to suppress the voices of the youth in taking an active role in determining the future direction of Sarawak and Malaysia.
As Sarawak is currently under the Emergency (Essential Powers)(Sarawak) Ordinance 2021, which is until February 2, 2022, Dr Yii opined that there is no justifiable reason for PRN12 to be held earlier especially in view of the Covid-19 situation in Sarawak.
“With the implementation of Undi18 and AVR, we are looking at more than 1.9 million eligible voters who would be able to take part in determining the political future of Sarawak.
“In my constituency of Bandar Kuching alone, we are looking at an additional 29,542 new voters, 4,433 in Padungan, 8,745 in Pending and 16,364 in Batu Lintang.
“There is a surge in the number of voters under the Undi18 list because not only the voters above 18 years old will now be eligible to vote, but all eligible voters are automatically registered as voters,” he said in a press statement today.
Dr Yii who is a member of Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak said he strongly welcomed Undi18 and AVR as it could witness more young people to be part of the democratic process in Malaysia.
He believed the Sarawak government should not be taking the voices of the youth for granted and deny them the rights to vote.
He said youth empowerment must be central to the government’s agenda and the government must embody the fact that the youth are not just the leaders of Sarawak’s future but they are also the leaders of today. — DayakDaily
