JOHOR BARU: The upcoming Johor state election will see an increase of almost 30 per cent new voters or 749,731 following the implementation of Undi18.
Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said this translates to 2.5 million voters in total in Johor as compared to the 1.8 million during the 2018 general election.
"We are aware of this (additional new voters) and we are prepared to face this challenge. In fact, all Members of Parliament have been briefed on the matter," he said during a news conference at the Umno building here today.
Ahmad denied claims that the implementation of Undi18 would pose as a big challenge to Umno, saying that this would also affect all political parties.
"This should not be an issue because we (BN MPs) agreed and supported (Undi18) in the Dewan Rakyat.
"Sooner or later we will have to face this reality. It is not something that we can avoid.
"Which is why it'll be the responsibility of each Umno and BN member to persuade their children who are new voters to vote for us," he said.
Last year, the government amended Article 119 of the Federal Constitution to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 as well implementing the automatic registration of all Malaysian voters.