SANDAKAN: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will table the bill amendment on lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 this Tuesday (July 16).
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong said this tabling is to enable those aged 18 and above to be automatically registered as voters.
He said it is important as the government wants to give those aged 18 an opportunity to vote.
"Currently, there are 15 million registered voters. If the bill is passed, then by the 15th general election, the electorate will grow to more than 18 million, marking an addition of more than 3.8 million voters.
"It will be a historic moment for our country. We hope we will get the support for the Bill," he said.
The bill to amend the Federal Constitutional to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 was re-tabled at the Dewan Rakyat on July 11, with three amendments.
The first amendment is to lower the minimum age to 18, while another is to reduce the minimum age for election candidates from 21 to 18. The third amendment is to enable automatic voter registration.
On Wednesday, Liew said the additional state seats for the Sabah bill would also be tabled.
"This is another important bill for our country and (the) people of Sabah.
" We hope to get the full support of the 148 members of parliament. As of now, the government has 139."
As for the abolishment of the mandatory death sentence, Liew said it would only be tabled during the next parliament sitting in October.
"We will also be forming a special task force to study the life sentence, which we tried to convert to 30 years or 10 years," he said.