KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 ― The police’s questioning of participants of Saturday’s open-air protest to push for the government to allow Malaysians aged 18 to register to vote this year instead of delaying it to next year was “odd”, Undi18 movement co-founder Qyira Yusri said today.

Qyira questioned the authorities’ scrutiny of the Undi18 protest last weekend when youths had taken the necessary precautions to prevent Covid-19 infections and were only looking for a safe space to express their thoughts.

“I think it’s very odd that the police chose to call up the protesters or the alleged organisers for the protest considering that it was very SOP-compliant, everyone had social distancing, we all wore masks, we all had hand sanitisers.

“And more importantly, when you see, actually internal gatherings of up to 250 people are allowed, you see government functions happening, you see weddings going on.

“And yet a peaceful protest done in open air ― where the risk of catching Covid-19 is very, very low ― is being scrutinised so much by enforcers.

“It’s quite worrying, because many of the participants that went to the protest, it was their first-ever protest, it was their first-ever political programme.

“Many of them are 18 and even younger and went to the protest because they just wanted a safe avenue to speak up. And as you can see, a lot of them just went there, sat down and shared their views. It’s very concerning that the police chose this event in particular to target and to question,” she told Malay Mail when met after the announcement of a lawsuit by 18 youths to press for their rights to vote to be enforced by July 2021.

Protesters hold placards in front of Parliament building to protest the Election Commission's (EC) delay in allowing 18-years old to vote in Kuala Lumpur March 27, 2021. —Picture by Yusof Mat Isa
Protesters hold placards in front of Parliament building to protest the Election Commission's (EC) delay in allowing 18-years old to vote in Kuala Lumpur March 27, 2021. —Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

Since the peaceful protest on Saturday (March 27), police have already called at least eight individuals for questioning over the event.

Those who have had their statements recorded by the police on March 30 are politicians including Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad, Ketari state assemblyman Young Syefura Othman, DAP Youth chief Howard Lee, Parti Amanah Negara Youth chief Shazni Munir Mohd Ithnin, PKR’s Chua Tian Chang, Muda party’s Amir Abdul Hadi, Parti Sosialis Malaysia’s (PSM) committee member R. Sharan and PSM Youth committee member K. Arveent.

Later this afternoon, Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh, Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah, prominent lawyer Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, Simpang Renggam MP Maszlee Malik are also expected to be questioned by the police at the Dang Wangi district police station.

Qyira confirmed that Undi18 members including her will be present this afternoon in a show of solidarity.

“So after the protest, we noticed many of the people being questioned are actually politicians, besides Datuk Ambiga.

“So none of the NGO people or any of the participants below 21 were being called by the police. So we did got there in a show of solidarity, but none of us were questioned or called by the police,” she said today.

Confirming that nobody from Undi18 were called by the police so far over the protest, she also told Malay Mail that some of those who have been called for police questioning had merely attended in support, such as MPs Yeoh and Maria Chin.

The protest was organised collectively by a coalition of more than 20 youth organisations including political parties and grassroots organisations, she said.