PEKAN – Those who do not support 18 year-old teenagers in becoming voters and do not trust the youths for Undi 18 are outdated.
Minister of Communications and Multimedia, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said that the community should place their trust and confidence on the youths by educating them with politics from the beginning.
He thinks that those who are opposed to it have old thinking and are inverted when they label the youths as unprepared to vote at the age of 18 while they did not provide the early exposure to them.
Saifuddin also confessed that he is among the strong supporters of Undi 19 as he thinks that it is a mature age and they are bound to the law.
“We always don’t trust the youths but we want their support. If we are mature in politics, we would not speak that way to the youths.
“For example, I’ve been saying right from the beginning that we should train our children to choose their own school prefects through the election system.
“I was among the strong supporter of Undi 18. The Undi 18 decision was made unanimously at the Dewan Rakyat.
“We can drive at the age of 18, sign contracts and if we commit a crime, we will no longer be trialled at the juvenile court,” he said in a news conference after the launching the Malaysia Prihatin for the Minister of Communications and Multimedia last night. He was asked to comment on the opinion that 18 year-old teenagers are not suitable to vote, as they are not mature enough in making decision.
Saifuddin, who is also the Member of Parliament of Indera Mahkota hopes that Undi 18 can be implemented in the coming 15th General Election (GE15).
“I am confident that the EC (Election Commission) is ready to manage this, however, I hope that no unnecessary inverted arguments will emerge over Undi 18,” he said. –MalaysiaGazette
