KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 23): Electoral reform group Bersih has slammed Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof for not taking proactive steps to implement the automatic voters registration system.

Bersih chairman Maria Chin Abdullah said Aziz had all the time to implement reforms since taking over the helm of the EC in 2008, but chose not to do so.

Aziz, a former Home Ministry secretary-general, will turn 66 next month, the mandatory age for retirement.

"The EC is an independent body set up under the Federal Constitution to register voters and conduct elections. The EC could have drafted laws and presented it to a minister to be tabled in Parliament but he now gives excuses just before retirement."

She said this in response Aziz's statement that it would be difficult to implement the automatic voter registration system in Malaysia because it would have a significant impact on the overall electoral system.

According to Aziz, under Article 119 of the Federal Constitution, anyone who wants to be a voter must apply as a new voter and it clearly gives the right to citizens to choose whether to sign up or not.

As such, if the proposal for the automatic voter registration system was approved, then Article 119 should be amended in advance to enable amendments to the act and other related regulations to be made, he said.

"It should be noted that this amendment requires the support of two-thirds votes in Parliament and can only be achieved if all parties agreed to it."

Maria said it was not Aziz's concern whether two-thirds MPs in the Dewan Rakyat approved changes to the Federal Constitution.

She said Bersih first submitted a memorandum in 2010 that called for automatic registration once a citizen turned 21, and in 2012 a parliamentary select committee on electoral reform made a similar proposal.

"He ignored all the suggestions that would have saved a lot of taxpayers' money in administrative cost."

Maria said potential voters need not go through the trouble of going to post offices or the EC branch offices to register.

She said automatic registration gave voters the option to cast their ballots in the general election or by-elections.

"Voters have the option to exercise their democratic rights if they automatically registered."

Maria said automatic registration had been implemented in Australia, Chile, Canada and Scandinavian countries such as Finland, and voter turnout during polls was high in those countries.