In a Facebook post, Najib attached an image of a news article in which law minister Takiyuddin Hassan said the automatic registration of 18-year-olds as voters would start by July 2021 at the latest.

The Election Commission said yesterday that the automatic registration of 18-year-olds could only be implemented after September 2022 as movement restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic had hampered its planning and preparations.

Azmin, who is international trade and industry minister, defended the delay by saying earlier today that the next general election was only due to be held in 2023, and questioned who had promised it would be done by 2020 or 2021?

Najib said in response: “The PN minister defends the government postponing Undi18 to September 2022. The PN minister denies that the PN-led government promised to implement it in 2021.

“The PN minister also asked who promised this. The answer is: A PN minister, in Parliament.”

In the news article that Najib posted, Takiyuddin had told the Dewan Rakyat that he expected Undi18 to be completed “within 18 to 24 months” from the date of approval by the Senate on July 25, 2019.