PETALING JAYA: Having an additional 5.8 million voters on the electoral roll is one thing, but getting them out to vote is another.

       The automatic registration of voters will not necessarily translate to actual votes during a general election, said political analyst Prof Dr Sivamurugan Pandian.

       “While voting is a right, it is still not mandatory here unlike in some other countries.

       “Having between 40,000 and 50,000 new young voters every month does not guarantee that they will come out to cast their votes.

       “This is where the political parties have to create more platforms to woo these voters,” he said.

       Sivamurugan, from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), acknowledged, however, that the inclusion of young voters would change the nation’s political landscape.

       “They will create a different momentum during the next general election as it will the first time that some of them will be voting,” he added.

       In Australia, a person who does not vote can be fined and suspended from holding public office for three years.

       Singapore imposes a fine on those who don’t vote while in Thailand, a person who fails to vote without a proper reason can lose his or her right to vote.