Rashid, who is Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) vice-president, was responding to earlier remarks by Bersih 2.0 that implementing the automatic voters registration system could repair EC’s “bad image”.

Speaking to FMT, Rashid said implementation of the automatic voters registration system required an amendment to the Registration of Electors Regulations 2002.

Any amendment needs the government’s nod, he said.

“However, the government will not agree for reasons only known to them.

“In my experience, it can be done easily but political will is of course needed.”

Rashid regards automatic voter registration as “easy, clean and transparent”, agreeing that the government should embrace this system.

Previously, it was reported that as many as 4.2 million eligible voters remain unregistered.

In the 13th general election, held on May 5, 2013, there were 13,622,143 voters. Only an additional 354,141 people were registered until last year.

Universiti Malaya political analyst Associate Prof Awang Azman Pawi agreed with Rashid that automatic voter registration is a good idea.

“However, there must be a two-way discussion between the EC and civil societies to further examine this possibility.

“For the EC, it might involve a high cost and a more advanced system.”

Awang Azman said if the automatic voters registration is implemented, there will definitely be several errors due to the “standardisation of systems”, adding it would not be surprising if the EC is once again blamed for its shortcomings.

Political analysts have previously speculated that Prime Minister Najib Razak may call for the polls this year.

The 14th general election must be held before Aug 24, 2018.