It was a day of withdrawals in Parliament yesterday as Pakatan Harapan lawmakers filed motions to tarik balik two bills.

One of the ones to go was the bill to amend the Federal Constitution to lower the voting age from 21 to 18. But fear not, teenage patriots! It was only withdrawn to be tweaked.

The bill is expected to be tabled again today with two additions:

•  All Malaysians will be automatically registered as voters at 18, and
• The minimum age to stand for elections will be 18 as well.

Both these changes were demanded by the opposition (though PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad tactfully called them "requests") as prerequisites for them to support of the bill.

The opposition had the government by the short and curlies because the bill, which concerns constitutional amendments, requires a two-thirds majority to be passed. It's a majority Pakatan doesn't have, which is why it played nice. And it worked: the opposition bloc will support the new bill.

As important as automatic registration of new voters, will be the addition of 4 million currently unregistered voters into the electoral roll. This will raise our voter numbers by almost 30% from its current 15 million people. Can these new voters be snapped from the apathy that resulted in them not being arsed to register in the first place? If so, which way will they vote?

In other countries, voter apathy is generally caused by socioeconomic factors (poorer, less educated people are less likely to vote); a feeling that their voice doesn't matter and whether an election is competitive (people are just less likely to vote when the incumbent is a shoo-in for victory). 

So how to galvanise voters? In the long-term, better higher education and income levels. In the short to medium-term, less gerrymandering and more inclusive politics, and fielding high calibre candidates.

Btw, in case you're wondering about the second bill to be withdrawn - it's in the Bits and Bobs section below.

Najib Razak's appointment as BN advisory board chairman hasn't sat well with some within Umno. Who woulda thunk that? The man is only facing criminal charges and an unpaid tax bill of more than RM1 billion!

Party bigwigs (or is that former bigwigs?) have gotten quite bent out of shape about this. For example, when asked if he would join Bersatu just a few days ago, Khairy Jamaluddin  said he was "content where he was". Yesterday, when asked to comment on Jibbyboy's appointment, KJ's response was ... "Suddenly, I'm not so happy where I am."

Former Jibby strongman Nazri Aziz practically laughed in the ex-PM's face, saying: "We (BN) lost (the general election) under whom? What kind of advice he can give us?" 

Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah was more diplomatic, saying he was surprised but "maybe it's a good thing" as the former PM had vast experience.

While his graft charges are a big issue, let's not forget Jib has completely reinvented himself post-GE and has gone from a quinoa-munching elite to a bike-riding, hoodie-wearing man of the masses. It's worked a treat and he's still easily the most popular BN leader. So, yes - he could definitely teach the rest of the coalition a thing or two about winning back public support.

Whatever it is, it's obvious there's dissent among Umno members over Najib's return to the leadership fold (make no mistake, he may be an adviser, but this gives him a great deal of power). Is this enough to drive them into Bersatu and Mahathir's leathery embrace?

The task force probing the disappearances of activist Amri Che Mat and Pastor Raymond Koh has gotten two new faces -- MACC assistant commissioner Azian Umar and independent legal practitioner Roger Tan.

Azian replaces former Bukit Aman Legal Unit chief Mokhtar Mohd Noor, who withdrew from the task force after the victims' families took issue with his inclusion.

Koh and Amri's families raised concerns last month over the appointments of several task force members, including Mokhtar, whose unit had been implicated as having conducted a flawed investigation into Amri's enforced disappearance. 

The families proposed a member of the Bar Council, an MACC officer, and an NGO representative be appointed to the task force to make it more credible and balanced. The families haven't issued a statement about the new appointments yet, but expect one soon about whether they are satisfied that two out of three of their proposals were met ... kinda.

An NGO called Eliminating Deaths and Abuse in Custody Together (EDICT), however, has had its two sen worth. EDICT suggests there is no legal basis for the task force and questions if it even has the power to compel witnesses to attend its inquiries.

EDICT chairman M. Visvanathan has a point (or two, or three). There seems to be no terms of reference for the task force, or even a clear definition of its powers. All we know is that it has been set up and it's supposed to see whether Suhakam's findings, that the duo had been taken away by Special Branch personnel from Bukit Aman, are true.

How will this play out? Only time can tell.

As is sometimes the case, there were several stories yesterday which were important enough to be included in BTL, but not quite important enough to warrant an entire section each. So, here they are in brief:

• When Pakatan MPs were the opposition, they kicked up a big stink about the National Security Council Act 'cos of the sweeping powers it granted then PM Najib. In their election manifesto, Maddey and Co vowed to get rid of the Act. But instead of repealing the Act, the new government decided to amend it instead and move the powers from the PM to the Agong (who would still act on advice from the PM, which means nothing actually changes lah!). Well, that proposed amendment has now been withdrawn. Let's see if this is a precursor to repealing the Act or if Pakatan is as keen to make Malaysia a police state as Barisan previously was. Meanwhile, here's a simple infographic to refresh your memory about the NSC Act.
   
• Maddey Mohamad says any plans for saving Malaysia Airlines will see no lay-offs for employees and the national carrier maintaining its Malaysian identity. The former would be good news for staffers, while the latter will be special for many Malaysians. Folk may complain about MH, but the brand is an institution that many still view with fondness, if not necessarily pride anymore.
   
• A 65-year-old man has been arrested by Negri Sembilan police for alleged sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl. The girl's mother lodged a report after a video of the man forcing her daughter to perform sexual acts on him emerged on social media. It wasn't just the girl's mother who lodged a police report. At least 16 other people nationwide did so too. A mob of people also gathered outside his house in Seremban and if he hadn't already scarpered, he might very well have been beaten black and blue.
   
• Fancy owning your own resort? Jamal Yunos, the infamous leader of the Red Shirts gang, is putting his Sekinchan resort up for auction. And the reserve price? Just RM4.5 million. All those legal fees must be costly ...