Youth voter registration still low

PUTRAJAYA: Less than 10% of students from institutions of higher learning approached by the Election Commission (EC) registered as voters, said its chairman Tan Sri Mohd Hashim Abdullah.

“I visited several universities and met over 30,000 students to talk to them and urge them to register as voters.

“However only 2,700 of them eventually registered,” he said after launching the MySPR Semak app at the EC headquarters yesterday.

Based on a youth voter registration exercise conducted by the EC at high learning institutions nationwide since February, Mohd Hashim said the number of newly registered voters aged between 21-39 remain low.

“The reasons that they gave included ‘do not know how to register’, ‘do not want to vote’, and ‘do not want to get involved in politics’.”

“In the end, they relate voting to politics, thinking that their vote does not carry any weight,” he said.

Despite the setback, Mohd Hashim said the commission will continue to encourage more registrations before the 14th general election.

By explaining the importance of voting and dispelling negative rumours against the EC, Mohd Hashim pledged to continue engaging youth as they remain the group with the least registered voters in all states.

The MySPR Semak app will enable voters to check their registration status and obtain election results.

Mohd Hashim said the app will also include information such as the individual’s voting centres and updates during elections.

The app will help minimise dependency on unofficial sources for polling outcomes that could cause confusion.

“During elections, the people will often get untrue and inaccurate information on results.

“The app will enable voters to access official results accurately,” he said, adding that the app was developed following public feedback on conflicting results during the last general election.

MySPR Semak is currently available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store.