Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman said while the recently implemented automatic voter registration was a positive move, the low voter turnout at the Johor elections proved more must be done.

“Of course, further dialogue is needed to determine exactly how this will be done, but the sooner it is implemented the better,” he said at the launch of the book, ‘Pilihan Raya Demokrasi Malaysia: Tanding, Pilih Menang Tadbir’ by the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah, today.

Rashid noted that it would require plenty of work to amend the current laws on the electoral process, but said he was confident it could be done.

He said it was especially important to encourage the public to vote in general elections, as it ultimately determined how the country would be governed for the next five years or until Parliament was dissolved.

He said “any functioning democracy is built on its voters”.

Rashid also called for a better system to keep track of where voters were located, and changes to their addresses to ensure no one was left behind in the electoral process.

He said this should not only apply to those residing in cities or rural areas, but also students or citizens living abroad, highlighting that the current system was inadequate.

Rashid hopes the book, which he co-authored, would further educate the public on the electoral process.