As Malaysians, we all know that General Elections will be held every five years and GE13 was approximately four years ago on 5 May 2013. Time flies right? Which means that there is AT MOST 1.5 years left until the next election!
While the deadline for GE14 is 24 August 2018, the elections can be held any time earlier than that. Surprise attack anyone?
Source: beritadaily.com
Recent speculations among political parties about the next election date says that it may happen in September 2017. Only 6 months from now!
Predictions abound that an earlier election date will be called to capitalise on nationalism because our National Day falls on 31 August and coincidentally, this year Kuala Lumpur is hosting the 29th Southeast Asian Games which closes on the same day as our 60th National Day.
And if elections really do fall in September, the cut-off period to register and be eligible to vote for GE14 is 31 March 2017!
Source: blogs.ft.com
Why 31st March? That’s because the normal processing time it takes to be registered and gazetted in the votes roll is 6 months. So it’s not like you register today, then you can vote tomorrow tau!
You will be shocked to know that to date, 4.1 million Malaysians have not registered themselves as voters.
Based on this survey by INVOKE Centre for Policy Initiatives, here’s the breakdown of the statistics.
Source: cpi.invokemalaysia.org
So if you’re not registered, it’s not too late. Go register now!
Politicians and concern citizens stressed how Malaysians may not understand the urgency of having themselves registered and still carry on with their ‘tidak apa’ attitude.
“If they do not register as voters, there is no point talking about the country’s political situation on social media. What is spoken cannot be translated into votes.”
– Datuk Seri Mohd Hashim Abdullah, Election Commission (EC) chairman
So here’s how you register yourself as a voter:
Go to the post office or SPR office and fill up a form. Of course, remember to bring your IC! Yup, that’s all it takes!
Source: lowyatmalaysia.com
Malaysians, do not underestimate the power of your vote. What is the point of complaining on social media but if you are not doing your part?
Regardless whether these predictions are accurate or not, we have to make sure that we’ve registered ourselves and will be able to cast our votes when the time comes. At least if the elections don’t fall on September, we can be rest assured that we’ll be ready to vote when GE14 is officially announced. Don’t cry tears of regret when voting day actually comes.
Plus, if you’re not worried enough, then think about the American presidential campaign.
