KUCHING, Nov 6: Holding the State Election now has nothing to do with Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) avoiding the implementation of Undi18 as alleged by certain quarters, says Bintulu MP Dato Sri Tiong King Sing.
At this point of time, he said, it is merely a good-enough, if not ideal time window to have elections as the pandemic remains ever-changing and unpredictable.
He also emphasised that the State Election had been delayed for too long since the supposed date of the Sarawak Legislative Assembly’s (DUN) expiry date on June 6, 2021.
In respect to the State and Federal constitutions, it was legally necessary to remove the Emergency Ordinance and dissolve DUN to return the mandate to the people, said Tiong.
“For argument’s sake, if GPS does fear giving young people the right to vote, why is the GPS-led Sarawak the first State to amend its Constitution to lower the age to be a candidate to 18?
“If we are afraid, why would such a motion even be submitted? The real problem is that the Federal government has not yet responded with enacting the relevant laws and regulations to implement this policy, which may take months to resolve and rectify.
“It is certainly not something that could be done within this year,” he said in a statement today.
Tiong, who is also the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to China, stressed that GPS absolutely welcomes the lowering of voting candidates’ age to 18 (Undi18), otherwise it would not have supported the idea in the first place.
Thus, he urged political parties to cease spreading misleading allegations and statements on social media to avoid causing confusion among the people.
“We do welcome 18-year-olds, and even those under 18, to take part in the political process and understand it. We can all sit down to exchange ideas and we look forward to their constructive suggestions,” he added. — DayakDaily
