KUCHING, June 28: Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDSB) opines that the current voting age of 21 is good. Lowering it may be tricky and problematic, later on.
“We need to know that when a person reaches 18 years old, they are all thinking about what is their plan next,” reckoned PBDSB information chief William Mangor in a statement today.
Most of the time, these teenagers would be looking for advice from their teachers and parents about their lives and goals, he said.
“However, if the government wants to lower the voting age to 18, it needs to revamp the education syllabus.
“The Education Ministry should come up with a syllabus on politics for students when they reached 15 years old. They should be exposed to politics of the day by then, preparing them to vote when they reach 18,” he said.
William lamented that the school syllabus in Malaysia tended to change whenever someone new helms the Education Ministry.
“This makes students look like lab rats. And now we are asking them to vote?” he asked.
William reckoned that a better alternative to lowering the voting age is to create more platforms for youngsters to express their voice on mainstream politics.
“We believe that by giving youngsters a voice in politics, leadership and management, they will shape their identities. Voting is a serious matter for the future of the country” he highlighted.
Meanwhile, William hoped the Election Commission (EC) would come up with automatic registration of voters.
“The EC can sort it out with the National Registration Department (JPN) on registering new voters. With collaboration with JPN, the EC can reduce phantom voters. However, JPN needs to update EC once a year or more often to know whose names can be dropped (deceased),” he said. — DayakDaily
