Reported by:
Khoo Xin Yi Sr1ScA
Following the amendment of Malaysia’s electoral system to allow 18-year-olds to participate in elections, a talk regarding Malaysia’s electoral system was hosted for all Senior Middle 3 students of Kuen Cheng High School on the 16th of April. The host of the talk was Mr. Walter Chou, who is a teacher and the Assistant Head of the Academic Department at Hin Hua High School.
Introduction of Mr. Walter Chou
The talk started at 10:30 a.m. with Mr. Chou introducing himself along with an interaction platform named Slido that the participants would have to use in order to answer questions or give their opinions. He then gave a brief introduction on electoral systems by sharing a video on the historical moment where every Member of Parliament (MP) in Malaysia unanimously agreed to lower the voting age to 18 instead of 21, meaning that those of age 18 and above would be able to vote and even run for parliament. The reason it was such a commerable moment is because with the addition of 18 to 20-year-old citizens, the number of votes would be increased by more than 7,000,000. With that, Mr. Chou asked for the students’ opinion on the matter. Some students stated that they were excited, happy, clueless, anxious and even unfazed.
Students’ Opinion On the Lowered Voting Age
Mr. Chou went on to mention the history of voting. From Ancient Greece to 20th Century Europe and all the way to the countries in our modern world, the electoral systems around the world have taken great changes. However, there are still limitations to who can vote, with limitations being based on one’s age, citizenship and criminal record.
Following that, Mr. Chou recommended an eBook titled Dong Zong Election Education Book to the students and told them to read 4 specific pages before continuing the talk. He gave students a few simple questions to answer regarding the contents of the pages. It was then explained that in Malaysia, normal citizens would actually vote for representatives of different political parties in different regions, and those representatives would be the ones voting for the Prime Minister in parliament. To become the prime minister, one would have to acquire the majority vote in parliament. Mr. Chou also mentioned that there are 3 different types of representatives in Malaysia, namely Members of Parliament, State Representatives and City Representatives, each with different rights and responsibilities.
Dong Zong Election Education Book
Moving on, Mr. Chou explained why democracy is important. With democracy, citizens would be given the chance to vote for a better government and a better country. Mr. Chou also brought up the responsibilities of those who organize the elections, saying that they must check for those who are eligible to vote. Elections are held once every 5 years and Mr. Chou stated that the zones in which citizens should vote are based on their address. When voting, citizens vote for both one Member of Parliament and one State Representative. In terms of the voting process, Mr. Chou talked about the few steps citizens have to take when going to vote. Citizens have to queue up, go through identification, have their finger inked, take their voting ticket, draw a cross in the box of the party they want to vote for, place it in the box and leave.
Voting Process
Mr. Chou then emphasized on how voting tickets must be used. Citizens must draw a cross in the box indicating the party they would like to vote for and refrain from drawing or writing anything else on the ticket, else being rendered as invalid. The dressing etiquette when voting was said to be restricted as well. Citizens are only allowed to wear plain shirts and bags that do not indicate any form of symbolism regarding the political parties when within 50m of a voting area. Bribery will also not be tolerated.
Invalid Voting Tickets
Moreover, Mr. Chou encouraged students to stay behind after voting in order to scrutinize the vote counting process and ensure that the votes are not miscounted. It was said that usually, the party with the popular vote wins the election. However, if the votes are just a few numbers off, a recount will be ordered. Students were later asked about their opinions on what problems our country’s electoral system holds. One of the biggest problems was said to be “party hopping” where politicians would leave their previous political party and jump the bandwagon of another just for their own benefits.
Lastly, students were encouraged to actively keep up with the politics of our country. A short Q&A session was held before Mr. Chou ended the talk.
Ways to Become an Active Citizen