I am very worried that the current 21-day voters’ registration exercise will succeed in registering 400,000 new UMNO voters with the primary objective of ‘killing’ the DAP in the next general elections

Statement by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, when inspecting the Malacca DAP State Voters’ Registration Campaign in Malacca on Wednesday, July 20, 1994 at 9.30 a.m

I am very worried that the current 21-day voters’ registration exercise will succeed in registering 400,000 new UMNO voters with the primary objective of ‘killing’ the DAP in the next general elections

I understand that the current 21-day voters’ registration exercise by the Election Commission which ends of July 31 is the result of the demand of UMNO, which wants to register 400,000 new UMNO voters for the next general elections.

UMNO has mobilized its entire national machinery since the start of the voters’ registration exercise on July 11 to register the 400,000 new UMNO voters in the last ten days.

There are only 11 days before the Election Commission ends its voters’ registration exercise.

I understand that UMNO has been very successful and to date has registered about 50 per cent of its targeted objective of registering 400,000 new UMNO voters.

In actual fact, there are more than 900,000 Malaysians who are eligible to vote but who have not registered as voters.

However, UMNO is not interested in registering all the 900,000 Malaysians, but only in 400,000 new voters whom it had identified as potential UMNO voters.

If UMNO succeeds in registering 400,000 new UMNO voters while there is only minimal registration of the balance of 500,000 non-registered Malaysian voters, then UMNO and Barisan Nasional would enjoy great advantage in the next general elections.

The national UMNO machinery, using Kemas and other government or quasi-government agencies, have been so successful in registering the 400,000 new UMNO voters that I am very worried about DAP’s electoral chances in the next general elections.

The political situation is already very unfavourable for the DAP in the next general elections, but with the added element of 400,000 new UMNO voters, the DAP could be heading for disaster in the next general elections.

I call on all Malaysians who have reached 21 years and have not registered as voters not to miss the last chance to register so that they could exercise their precious right as a citizen to cast their vote in the next general elections to help determine Malaysia’s future.