KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 — With 4.3 million eligible but still unregistered Malaysian voters, political parties are racing to use the year-long registration process to win the hearts and minds of new voters.
Last year, Umno registered the highest number of new voters at 24,818, followed by DAP with 17,756 and PAS with 16,987, according to the Election Commission (EC).
“Those who register with us, chances are they’ll support us as well,” DAP Socialist Youth chief Anthony Loke told The Malaysian Insider.
The DAP has been active in registering voters throughout the country, getting 4,000 to sign up last weekend alone in Penang and with registration forms running out. The party had targeted to register 10,000 voters in the first week of May.
“We are being more aggressive this year,” Loke added.
“As a rule of thumb, we’re targeting [a] 10 per cent increase in every constituency. For example, in a constituency, if you have 50,000 voters, get at least 5,000 (new) voters,” he added.
Selangor executive councillor Ronnie Liu stressed the importance of registering new voters, saying that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) might have won the Hulu Selangor by-election if they had registered just 2,000 voters. Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate P. Kamalanathan had won by a slim majority of 1,725.
“We have more than 700,000 eligible voters in Selangor itself who have not registered… and Penang has 200,000 not registered,” the DAP leader said. “That means whichever party… registers their supporters will make a hell lot of difference.”
The Malaysian Insider understands that voter registration is also Umno’s strategy in wresting Kedah from the PR government as mentioned at last weekend’s Umno retreat
However, Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal said registering voters may not necessarily influence their votes to the party’s advantage.
“We just encourage them to register,” he told The Malaysian Insider in a phone interview. “No one will know when they go to the box.”
Umno Johor Bahru MP Datuk Seri Shahrir Abdul Samad said that registering voters is only the first step in the process of capturing their actual vote.
“In the first place we have to engage them before they register,” said the former minister. “[There is] no point registering them when they’re not aware of community issues, national issues, or what’s happening around them.”
The relevance of the party is important to snaring the hearts of young people, who comprise most of the unregistered voters, said Umno Pasir Salak MP Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman.
“You have to… show them that your party is relevant to their aspiration,” he said. “These youths need jobs in the future, need opportunities.”
“We have proven since Independence... how much (sic) jobs we’ve created, how much opportunities we’ve given,” Tajuddin asserted while questioning the track record of other parties like PAS.
PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali said registering new voters is one of the party’s strategies in getting the younger set to swing in their favour.
“We think those who are prepared to register with us will most likely vote for us,” he said today, adding that they usually visit houses to register voters. “We target… the younger voters.”
PAS Parit Buntar MP Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa said he has registered about 1,000 voters in his constituency for the past two years, comprising new voters and eligible ones who have not registered for years.
“We should be having 5,000 new registered voters… by the end of this year,” he told The Malaysian Insider when asked about his target. “Most of them (new voters) are… 21 to 30 years old.”
“In fact, in my area, those who are new registered voters are mostly Chinese,” said the son of former PAS president Yusof Rawa.
Asked on the frequency and location of new voter registrations, Mujahid said he has been registering voters about twice a month at night markets or coffee shops. He also visits other branches to register eligible children of party members.
DAP’s strategy of registering new voters is similar as they, too, set up booths at night markets and shopping centres, said Liu.
Apart from political parties, various organisations are also registering voters. One, called Growing Emerging Leaders (GEL), is aiming to register two million new voters by end 2010 through the “Voice Your Choice” campaign.
Its co-ordinator, John Son Oei, said GEL hoped to achieve the target and that those who register during their campaign would have a choice at elections.
GEL is also working with others to achieve its target, including the Chinese Assembly Hall and the Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia (SABM) group.
Last year, Umno registered the highest number of new voters at 24,818, followed by DAP with 17,756 and PAS with 16,987, according to the Election Commission (EC).
“Those who register with us, chances are they’ll support us as well,” DAP Socialist Youth chief Anthony Loke told The Malaysian Insider.
The DAP has been active in registering voters throughout the country, getting 4,000 to sign up last weekend alone in Penang and with registration forms running out. The party had targeted to register 10,000 voters in the first week of May.
“We are being more aggressive this year,” Loke added.
“As a rule of thumb, we’re targeting [a] 10 per cent increase in every constituency. For example, in a constituency, if you have 50,000 voters, get at least 5,000 (new) voters,” he added.
Selangor executive councillor Ronnie Liu stressed the importance of registering new voters, saying that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) might have won the Hulu Selangor by-election if they had registered just 2,000 voters. Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate P. Kamalanathan had won by a slim majority of 1,725.
“We have more than 700,000 eligible voters in Selangor itself who have not registered… and Penang has 200,000 not registered,” the DAP leader said. “That means whichever party… registers their supporters will make a hell lot of difference.”
The Malaysian Insider understands that voter registration is also Umno’s strategy in wresting Kedah from the PR government as mentioned at last weekend’s Umno retreat
However, Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal said registering voters may not necessarily influence their votes to the party’s advantage.
“We just encourage them to register,” he told The Malaysian Insider in a phone interview. “No one will know when they go to the box.”
Umno Johor Bahru MP Datuk Seri Shahrir Abdul Samad said that registering voters is only the first step in the process of capturing their actual vote.
“In the first place we have to engage them before they register,” said the former minister. “[There is] no point registering them when they’re not aware of community issues, national issues, or what’s happening around them.”
The relevance of the party is important to snaring the hearts of young people, who comprise most of the unregistered voters, said Umno Pasir Salak MP Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman.
“You have to… show them that your party is relevant to their aspiration,” he said. “These youths need jobs in the future, need opportunities.”
“We have proven since Independence... how much (sic) jobs we’ve created, how much opportunities we’ve given,” Tajuddin asserted while questioning the track record of other parties like PAS.
PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali said registering new voters is one of the party’s strategies in getting the younger set to swing in their favour.
“We think those who are prepared to register with us will most likely vote for us,” he said today, adding that they usually visit houses to register voters. “We target… the younger voters.”
PAS Parit Buntar MP Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa said he has registered about 1,000 voters in his constituency for the past two years, comprising new voters and eligible ones who have not registered for years.
“We should be having 5,000 new registered voters… by the end of this year,” he told The Malaysian Insider when asked about his target. “Most of them (new voters) are… 21 to 30 years old.”
“In fact, in my area, those who are new registered voters are mostly Chinese,” said the son of former PAS president Yusof Rawa.
Asked on the frequency and location of new voter registrations, Mujahid said he has been registering voters about twice a month at night markets or coffee shops. He also visits other branches to register eligible children of party members.
DAP’s strategy of registering new voters is similar as they, too, set up booths at night markets and shopping centres, said Liu.
Apart from political parties, various organisations are also registering voters. One, called Growing Emerging Leaders (GEL), is aiming to register two million new voters by end 2010 through the “Voice Your Choice” campaign.
Its co-ordinator, John Son Oei, said GEL hoped to achieve the target and that those who register during their campaign would have a choice at elections.
GEL is also working with others to achieve its target, including the Chinese Assembly Hall and the Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia (SABM) group.
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