DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang said registration after March may not be taken into account for the final revision of the electoral roll to qualify for voting in September.

He said the system in Malaysia does not favour an individual being allowed to vote within six months of registration.

Lim said he could not understand why it was not possible for the EC to have “an efficient and up-to-date voter registration system” where a person can vote within a week or a month after registering.

“This means that over four million Malaysians, who have not registered as voters, must register within the next two weeks, if they are to be able to exercise their constitutional right to vote should Parliament be dissolved and GE14 takes place in September,” he said.

The Gelang Patah MP said he expects GE14 to be held after the government generates a nationwide “feel good” factor with celebrations for the 60th National Day celebrations on Aug 31.

Lim said he has been calling for automatic registration of voters since he was first elected to Parliament to represent Bandar Melaka in 1969.

“It would appear that we have one of the most incompetent and inefficient Election Commissions in the world, incapable of maintaining an efficient and up-to-date voter registration system,” he added.

“Other countries can have a system where a voter can register today and vote tomorrow, but in Malaysia, the Election Commission needs some six months before it could process the registration and allow a voter to cast his or her vote.”

Lim said requests by DAP MPs to have a meeting and discussion with the EC chairman and other officials on the electoral system have been turned down.

“I do not know whether the Election Commission chairman will tell the prime minister or Umno ministers and leaders that he is too busy to meet them.

“The Election Commission seems to be the most busy institution in the country, where they don’t even have time to meet MPs and opposition parties,” he said.