The campaign, launched in cooperation with AirAsia X Berhad and Sinar Harian, saw 1,100 free flight tickets up for grabs at Kompleks Media Kumpulan Karangkraf on March 3.

On March 6, electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0 applauded the EC’s efforts to register voters but questioned the need to offer “freebies” for people to exercise their basic democratic rights.

The coalition suggested that the EC implement an automatic voter registration system instead.

In a statement today, Kuasa said the need to motivate more people to register outweighed concerns over the means used.

“Bersih should remember who their allies are in this regard,” Kuasa chief executive officer Praba Ganesan said.

“When there are more registered voters – irrespective of the motivation to sign up – Malaysia inches to more democracy rather than less.”

Praba pointed out that registered voters could vote on election day, no matter their reasons for registering in the first place.

“With four million plus citizens unregistered, and both the EC and Bersih worried about the high disinterested numbers, any initiative to resolve the situation should be welcomed.”

Calling the incentive “a boon and not a bane”, Praba said offering free flight tickets would also generate discussion among the less politically-inclined.

He said that Kuasa will continue to support Bersih’s voter registration programme and proposals, along with all efforts to reduce the gap between eligible and registered voters.

“We support unreservedly, automatic registration of voters using the national registration department’s list. We support full access to all political parties and NGOs to register voters.

“We also hail all moves to increase transparency in our electoral process,” Praba said.

However, he added, the reality was that many Malaysians were absent from the electoral roll, and any assistance from the private sector through methods like games, competitions, gift raffles, promotional videos should be seen as “a major positive”.