Thousands of Indonesians in Malaysia cast their votes in national election

Indonesian president Joko Widodo (better known as Jokowi) is seeking re-election to a second term in the elections on Wednesday.(Reuters pic).

KUALA LUMPUR: Thousands of Indonesians in Malaysia cast their ballots in early voting for their country’s presidential election today.

Many people had been turning up all day at the Indonesian Embassy in Jalan Tun Razak here, and at the consulates-general in George Town, Kota Kinablu and Kuching.

Polling day is Wednesday in Indonesia, and more than 192 million people will cast their ballots for either Joko Widodo, better known as Jokowi, or Prabowo Subianto to be president for the 2019-2024 term.

The election is the world’s largest to be held on a single day.

Jokowi seeks re-election for a second term and has influential ulama Ma’ruf Amin as his vice-presidential running mate. Prabowo, a former military chief, is partnering former Jakarta deputy governor Sandiaga Uno.

There are 2,000 registered voters at the Indonesian consulate-general in George Town; 11,287 in Kota Kinabalu, where voting takes place at Sekolah Indonesia Kota Kinabalu near Sepanggar; and 138,952 voters are eligible to vote in Sarawak. More than 2,000 had voted in Johor Baru.

Indonesian Overseas Election Committee chief Adi Dewanto said in KUCHING that three polling counters had been prepared at the consulate-general and a special counter would be opened for late registration voters. - FMT