We all know that the next general election, GE14 is coming anytime soon and sadly, more than three million Malaysians who are eligible to vote have not registered yet.
If you’re one of these Malaysians who have yet to register, here’s why you should do so, and ASAP!
According to The Star, it may not be too late to register yourself as a voter. If you sign up to vote from now until March 31 this year, you could very well be able to cast your ballot as long as GE14 is held after mid-May. The electoral roll is updated once every three months and the Electoral Commission says that those who register in the first quarter of this year will be added to the voters list around the middle and end of May. Quick, go sign up!
Parliament’s five-year term will be expiring on June 24 and a general election must be called within 60 days of the dissolution. It may be earlier, it may be later, nobody knows yet!
An EC official advises Malaysians to exercise their voting rights and register themselves. “No one knows when the Prime Minister will seek a dissolution of Parliament despite all the speculation on election dates. Just register. If you don’t do it now, you may lose out if the predictions don’t come true,” the official said.
At the third quarter of last year, the EC found that 14.8 million Malaysians have already registered themselves as voters but more than three million Malaysians who are over 21 years old have not registered. What are you waiting for? You can proceed to register at any EC office or post office.
The #UndiRosak campaign which calls for voters to purposely spoil their vote or even abstain from voting has been gaining momentum on social media as the hashtag has been trending. This movement was led by youths who do not want to choose either the ruling party of opposition as they deemed it to be the same.
However, politicians from both sides have criticised this movement and said that it was the citizens’ duty to cast their votes responsibly, based on The Star‘s report. Just remember though, all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
For more information on voting, visit Election Commission’s website here.
It’s not too late to register, if you love your country, do your duty as a citizen of Malaysia!
Also read: M’sians Living Abroad Can Start Applying to Vote for Upcoming GE14, Here’s How