KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 ― Are you a Malaysian living overseas?
Have you done the necessary to ensure you can cast your ballot away from home come the 14th general election (GE14)?
The Election Commission (EC) opened up for applications for voting for Malaysians living abroad on January 23, and yes, it’s still not too late!
Applications will close midnight on the day of the dissolution of Parliament.
There are two ways Malaysians who will be away from home can cast their vote.
One is postal voting, where ballots are sent to the embassy or high commission, which will then post ballot papers to the voter’s address on a fixed date.
The other is advance voting, where overseas voters cast their votes at the embassy or high commission on a fixed date, usually several days before polling day.
To be eligible for this postal facility, you need to be an ‘absent voter’, meaning you must be a registered voter and have returned to Malaysia for no less than 30 days in the past five years before the dissolution of Parliament or state legislative assembly.
“Absent voters” are defined as military personnel and their spouses, government personnel (federal, state or local authorities) in service abroad, full-time students and their respective spouses.
This facility, however, is not extended to those living in southern Thailand (Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, Songkhla and Satun), Singapore, Brunei (and Kalimantan province) and Indonesia.
If you fall under that category, you will have to head home, as with anyone else who doesn’t qualify as an absent voter, which means cancelling holiday plans if you intend to exercise your responsibility at the polling booth.
If you are flying with Cathay Pacific, the Hong Kong airline will waive rebooking or rerouting charges if your travel plans coincide with the election.
While the actual date for GE14 is anyone’s guess, the 13th Parliament will automatically be dissolved on June 24.
So just in case you haven’t gotten around to it, head to the EC website and download Form 1B and submit the completed form to the EC headquarters in Putrajaya.
Submission can be done via email at [email protected], fax (03-8881 0424/ 0399/ 0394/ 0386/ 0369) or snail mail to Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya Malaysia, Menara SPR, No. 2 Jalan P2T, Presint 2, Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan, 62100 Putrajaya (attention to Unit Pengurusan Undi Pos Luar Negara).
Applicants processed by the EC will be informed of their application status.
The EC has also reminded those who have already registered as overseas absent voters to update their personals through the “Sistem Aduan” and “Pertanyaan SPR” on the EC website.
You also need to attach a copy of your passport for verification to ensure ballot papers are sent to the correct address.
