By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal (Malaysian Insider)
KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 — Umno Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin said today that the Election Commission (EC) should seriously consider looking into an automatic voter registration system.
His remarks come despite the fact that the government announced this morning in Parliament that it had no plans to introduce an automatic voter registration system.
“I’ve always been keen, pro-auto registration. The EC should look into this. Of course it will take some time and effort, but I feel that this is necessary,” he told The Malaysian Insider in Parliament.
Khairy, who is also Rembau MP, asserted that the issue here was how to find ways to make voting easier for future voters.
He said that he did not quite agree with the government’s stand on the matter, and would discuss it with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak soon.
“The issue here is not whether they (voters) should be registering or not. Their choice should be whether they want to vote, or otherwise,” he added.
Earlier, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said the government would continue with the existing procedures and policies and would not force the people to exercise their rights.