Ministry wants more citizens to register as voters

KUALA LUMPUR: The Communications and Multimedia Ministry will work on a campaign with the Election Commission to encourage citizens to register as voters.

Its minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak (pic) said while voting was not compulsory in Malaysia, it was still a citizen’s duty and constitutional right to choose his Government.

Asked why his recent blogpost on sskeruak. blogspot.my highlighted the need for young Malaysians to register as voters, he said the country needed young people who were politically conscious.

“Though we’ve not yet researched why many youths remain unregistered, it could be due to a sentiment that voting is not important,” he told a press conference after launching a book Buku Bajau: Pahlawan di Laut, Perwira di Darat, here yesterday.

He added that there was little point for the public to criticise the policies and actions of a government if they did not follow through with a vote.

It was reported that as of March 31, up to 3.7 million people out of the eligible 18 million have yet to register as voters.

On Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s statement that the illegal carbon filter factory in Sungai Lembu was an inherited problem from the previous Barisan Nasional state administration, Salleh said responsibility fell on the state government of the day to resolve existing issues.

“Instead of pointing fingers, a current government should take it as an opportunity to serve the people,” he said.

The Sungai Lembu factory recently gained national attention when the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission arrested state environment committee chairman Phee Boon Poh for allegedly writing two letters to the local authority, urging it to not take action on the factory.

It was reported that since 2015, Penanti assemblyman Dr Norlela Ariffin had made several complaints about the factory, claiming that the plumes of smoke it emitted had been the source of misery and health problems for the villagers.