DAP leads Umno, PAS in race for new voters
DAP has taken the lead among more than two dozen political parties in the country in the race to register new voters, especially among younger Malaysians, since Election 2008, according to the Election Commission.
EC deputy chairman Datuk Wira Wan Ahmad Wan Omar told The Malaysian Insider that DAP had registered the most number of new voters, followed by Umno, with other parties like PAS, MCA and Gerakan trailing them.
But he did not reveal the exact breakdown of new voters registered respectively by all the political parties.
It is understood that despite the push by DAP and other parties, a total of four million Malaysians, a majority of them under 30, remain unregistered.
“I feel it is DAP that has been the party which has taken advantage of the opportunity given (to appoint assistant voter registrars) and the mood of the public especially among the younger Chinese.
“It is clear from the increase in new voters that it is from the efforts of DAP, compared with Gerakan and MCA which should also take advantage,” said Wan Ahmad.
DAP, which received the lion’s share of Chinese votes in Election 2008, appears to have taken advantage of the internal problems MCA and Gerakan are facing to register more new voters.
“MCA is facing problems, so MCA has no time to do this work (to register new voters),” said Wan Ahmad while pointing out that party voter registration exercises usually contributed to better electoral results.
“It is common for them to put across their political stand when registering new voters. If they succeed in registering new voters this means they will attract more support during elections. That is the advantage.”
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