PUTRAJAYA, March 2 — It would be impractical to implement automatic voter registration now or in the near future as there are still many Malaysians do not vote during elections, Datuk Seri Hashim Abdullah has said.

The Election Commission (EC) chairman said it was more necessary now to spread awareness among Malaysians on the importance of casting their ballots, adding that the automatic registration of voters would only be feasible once the electorate understands the importance of participating in an election.

“Automatic voter registration is not a solution. If we do this, where is the benefit when in this current situation only 70 per cent of Malaysians go out and vote, and the remaining 30 per cent do not do so,” Hashim told Malay Mail Online in a recent interview.

“For me what I feel is important is to make sure there is awareness on the issue, and to first make sure those those who are already registered voters actually go out and vote on polling day,” he added.

Malaysians aged 21 years and above are eligible to vote.

In the 2013 general election, 13.3 million voters had registered to cast their ballots out of 16 million eligible voters.

Hashim said that the EC’s focus would be to work together with local NGOs and youth groups in order to encourage first-time voters to take part in the next general election.

“For example the National Service (PLKN)... we should arrange a slot where we speak to youths and explain to them why they must register and vote when they are eligible to do so.

“But if we do this, some people accuse us of having an agenda and wanting to sway potential voters in supporting a particular party or coalition… no matter what good we do there are always people who are not happy with us,” Hashim said.

In June 2013, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said that the government will consider registering voters automatically, but added that such a move would likely be impractical.

“I don’t think that we can enforce compulsory voting, but automatic registration can be considered,” Najib told Parliament then.

Electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0 and opposition parties have been actively campaigning for an automated voter registration system.