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PETALING JAYA: All MPs who voted in favor of the constitutional amendment Undi18 to lower the voting age to 18 two years ago have been told to “stand up” and oppose the police investigation into the peaceful assembly of young people out of Parliament last week.
DAP Secretary General Lim Guan Eng said this would be his moral obligation as the protesters were simply pushing for the implementation of what was democratically amended, adding that this peaceful gathering was not a crime.
“Many of the deputies seem to have made a 180 degree turn without a valid reason.
“Among them is the president of the PAS, Abdul Hadi Awang, who has now defended the delay in the implementation of Undi18, claiming that young people are not mature enough to vote.
“The PAS accepts members from the age of 13 and allows them to vote at party meetings. This exposes their double standards that it is okay for the PAS but not for the public, ”he said in a statement.
The 211 MPs from both sides of the political divide present in Dewan Rakyat had voted for Undi18 during their session on July 16, 2019.
Last week, some 100 protesters marched towards Parliament, but stopped at Padang Merbok, where they held a silent vigil for 18 minutes.
Among those questioned now are Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh, Petaling MP Jaya Maria Chin Abdullah, Simpang MP Renggam Maszlee Malik and veteran activist Ambiga Sreenevasan for being seen near the meeting.
Lim said the Perikatan Nasional-led government had promised to implement Undi18 by July this year, but the Election Commission suddenly announced that this could only be done after September 2022, citing the Covid-19 pandemic as the reason for the delay.
Lim said young people were considered mature enough to drive at 18, and some were even allowed to marry below that age, meaning they were old enough to vote.
The Bagan deputy said that 90% of the 57 countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation have their voting age of 18, which means that Hadi’s reasoning about “lack of maturity” is unacceptable.
