§ 32. Mr. Willeyasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many persons in Malaya, qualified to vote, have not been registered and so are unable to vote in the forthcoming elections.
§ Mr. HopkinsonIt is estimated that of those qualified to vote, between 250,000 and 450,000 did not register.
§ Mr. WilleyWhile fully recognising the work of the officers who compiled the register in difficult circumstances, may I ask whether the right hon. Gentleman does not agree that it is disturbing that such a large number of people will be, in effect, disfranchised? Would it not be possible in these cases, with the existence of identity cards, to allow automatic registration?
§ Mr. HopkinsonI must say that I was disturbed myself when I saw the size of the figures involved, but in fact every effort was made to give publicity to the registration of voters. As to the suggestion that they should be registered automatically, I would point out that although this is the case in Singapore, the opposite decision was taken by the Federal Legislature of Malaya on the recommendation of the Elections Committee. It is scarcely a matter in which we could interfere.