The Malaysian Insight

THE Election Commission (EC) must allow elected representatives to be appointed as assistant registrar officers (AROs) to ensure more eligible Malaysians are registered as voters, said a DAP lawmaker.

Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching said voter registration numbers were closely linked with the number of AROs, adding that voter registration peaked in 2011, when 1,023,170 Malaysians were registered as new voters in that year alone.

In 2011, there were 5,720 AROs nationwide.

“To allow more Malaysians to cast their votes in the 14th general election, the EC should immediately appoint elected representatives or their assistants as AROs.

“If the EC cannot boost efficiency to allow for more voters to register, it must either implement automatic voter registration or allow more representatives from political parties to be appointed as AROs.”

“The number of AROs dropped to 4,777 in 2012, and voter registration numbers also dropped by 30% in 2012.

“In 2013, only 195,193 new voters were registered. The number of AROs also decreased to 1,901 because the EC decided to neither extend the term of the AROs nor appoint new ones.”

Teo said previously, parties from both sides of the political divide had used their own resources to conduct roadshows and campaigns at morning markets, night markets or shopping malls without financial assistance from the EC.

“Until today, the EC has failed to give solid and reasonable grounds as to why it decided to drop all AROs from political parties.

“At the end of the day, what is important is that every Malaysian has the right to decide their fate and future. Such rights should not be denied by complicating a simple process through bureaucratic procedures.”

As of March, almost 3.8 million Malaysians who are eligible to vote have yet to register as voters. – November 16, 2017.