KUCHING: Sarawakians who are eligible to vote but have yet to register themselves have been advised to do so as early as possible.
Election Commission (EC) chairman Azhar Azizan Harun said that registering as early as possible would be good.
“Nationwide, there are about 3.8 million people who are eligible to vote but have yet to register themselves, as of the first quarter of 2019. I urge those who are eligible to register as early as possible and not wait until the last minute because the registration process does take time.
“In other countries, people fight tooth and nail for voters’ rights but in Malaysia, we have voting rights handed to us but we don’t make full use of that right and instead want to wait until the last minute to register,” Azhar said during a press conference after officiating the voters’ education programme at Kuching Polytechnic, Jalan Matang here today.
Azhar also stressed that this programme had nothing to do with the next state election.
“This is a routine activity for EC and the Election Academy in our effort to reach out to Malaysians, especially students, to bring awareness and understanding about the true election process.
“This programme also allows us to answer any controversial or confusing issues about the election process and we will also hold further programmes to encourage those who are eligible but haven’t registered to do so,” Azhar explained.
He also wished to clarify that the viral news going around social media that the closing date for registering as a voter in preparation for the next state election was false.
“The viral news about those who wish to register for the 2021 state election having to do so by June or July 2019 is false. We will only know the closing date for registering after there has been an announcement made about the state election date,” Azhar stated.
Also present at the programme was EC deputy chairman Dr Azmi Sharom and Kuching Polytechnic director Jamaliah Ahmad.