KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 ― Postal voting will not be expanded to allow Sarawakians residing out of the state to vote in the next state election, Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan said.

The minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said in a written parliamentary reply to Kelvin Yii (PH- Bandar Kuching) that the Election Commission has no plans to expand the postal voting system.

“In relation to voters living outside of Sarawak who are (postal voters), be informed that at present, there is no provision under the law to enable voters (who live outside of Sarawak) to utilise postal ballots,” he said.

He added that postal voting facilities were only available to EC members and its staff, election officers, armed forces on duty during the early voting day, media practitioners who are covering the election outside of their constituency on polling day, staff from nine agencies including Fire and Rescue Department, Prisons Department, Maritime Enforcement Agency, Police Reserve Volunteers, Immigration Department, Health Department, National Registration Department (UTC), Civil Defence Force, National Disaster Management Agency) who are on duty on polling day and Malaysian voters who are abroad (except Brunei, Singapore, Kalimantan and Southern Thailand).

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The Sarawak election is not synchronised with the general election but Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing said the state government could call for one in the event Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin dissolved Parliament before Sarawak must hold its poll.

Sarawak last held its state election in 2016, with what was then the state Barisan Nasional (BN) winning 72 out of 82 seats in the state assembly.

After the 2018 general election, the four component parties pulled out of the state BN to form Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).

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The current term of the state assembly expires in June next year.