Saturday September 8, 2012

500,000 in Umno not voters

By DESIREE TRESA GASPER
desiree@thestar.com.my

KOTA TINGGI: About half a million Umno members have not registered as voters, said party vice-president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.

He added that it was important for the Umno divisions to identify these members and get them registered before the general election.

“Previously, we had about 600,000 non-voters in Umno but we have since got many of them to register,” he said during a meeting with Pengerang Umno division members in Desaru, near here, yesterday.

Mohd Shafie, who chairs the party's voter registration bureau, said the next election would be “an election of numbers”.

“We are also updating our system as many unregistered members have died or migrated and there are also multiple or overlapping registrations with the party,” he said.

Mohd Shafie, who is Rural and Regional Development Minister, hoped there would be more funds for the ministry when Budget 2013 is tabled in Parliament on Sept 28.

“There are still many rural roads leading to kampungs and orang asli settlements that need to be upgraded,” he said.

Regarding the effects of the Petronas Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project, near here, Mohd Shafie said the ministry was looking into the needs of the affected villagers.

“We will work with related departments and ministries to ensure the local people benefit from this massive project,” he said.

News

Saturday September 8, 2012

500,000 in Umno not voters

By DESIREE TRESA GASPER desiree@thestar.com.my

By DESIREE TRESA GASPER
desiree@thestar.com.my