“We agree that youths who are aged 18 have the right to vote and they will be registered automatically,” he said at a press conference after a Pakatan Harapan presidential council meeting.

Previously, opposition parties had urged the government to introduce automatic voter registration and allow those aged 18 to stand as candidates as part of Putrajaya’s initiative to lower the voting age.

Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said the government also agreed to allowing 18-year-olds to stand as candidates in elections.

He said this, along with the lowering of the voting age and automatic voter registration, will require constitutional amendments.

“This Wednesday, Mahathir will be chairing a meeting with all party representatives and those from the opposition bloc to ensure these bipartisan constitutional amendments can be realised,” he said.

At the press conference, Mahathir also said the government would be studying the involvement of civil servants in politics.

“The civil service is a professional service. If it is tied to some political party, then they cannot perform well.

“They should really be neutral, so these factors will be studied as to whether anyone of them can join or hold office. We are not yet decided,” he said.