KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 ― Pakatan Harapan (PH) Youth chief Shazni Munir Mohd Ithnin has today called for a peace protest this Saturday in front of the Parliament against recently announced postponement of lowering voting age to 18, also dubbed Undi18.

Shazni said the protest is scheduled to start at 2pm, and he called on fellow youths from all backgrounds to join in the event.

“Taking responsibility that the denial of this right must be fought by all groups of young people ― inside and outside the political circle ― we call for a peaceful protest to be mobilised on Saturday, March 27, 2021 in front of the Malaysian Parliament,” he said in a brief statement.

Shazni also said that the Election Commission’s (EC) decision was merely echoing similar remarks made by among others Dewan Negara president Tan Sri Dr Rais Yatim and de facto law minister Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan, both from the Perikatan Nasional (PN) pact.

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Yesterday, it was reported that the lowering of the voting age to 18 and the accompanying automatic voter registration will not be implemented this year as scheduled.

The commission blamed the Covid-19 pandemic for causing delays to its implementation of the initiative that was unanimously approved by Parliament in 2019.

The decision has so far received massive backlash from both political divide.

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Minister Khairy Jamaluddin today said the reason given by the EC was ludicrous he will bring up the matter to the Cabinet, while Muda president Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman has warned the PN administration that older voters will punish them in the next election.