Upko proposes voting centres in peninsula, Sarawak and Singapore

The Election Commission has ruled out postal voting for Sabah voters residing outside the state.

KOTA KINABALU: An Upko leader has proposed the opening of voting centres for Sabahans residing in Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and Singapore in the coming state election.

Party deputy president Donald Mojuntin said this is an alternative to postal voting, which the Election Commission said will not be possible for the election, which must be held by Sept 29.

Mojuntin said Upko’s study of the 2019 electoral roll suggests that an estimated 18%, or over 200,000 of Sabah’s voters, are registered and residing outside the state.

They do not include many young Sabahans who have not changed their addresses as they have migrated for work, or study for temporary periods.

“Thus, Upko proposes a viable alternative, which is the setting up of voting centres in the peninsula, Sarawak and Singapore to allow Sabahans to practise their right to vote safely,” he said in a statement here today.

“This practice known as ‘remote voting’ is adopted globally and has become more common in the Covid-19 period as more countries have expanded measures to mitigate transmission risks.

“The Sabah political parties can arrange polling agents to be present in these locations to ensure integrity of the vote.”

He proposed that voting centres be set up in:

• Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Ipoh and Penang in the peninsula;
• Kuching and Miri in Sarawak;
• Malaysian High Commission in Singapore; and
• Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Kudat, Keningau and Tawau in Sabah (to mitigate the risks to the more remote areas).

“The voting centres can be opened during the early voting period over two days to ensure that officials will not be administratively burdened by this remote voting initiative.

“While we can adopt the protocols of using face masks and hand sanitisers, recent events in Kedah show that it only takes one super spreader to infect a whole community.”

He said that unlike Kedah, many of Sabah’s remote areas lack access to health care.

EC rules out postal voting for Sabahans in peninsula and Sarawak

Meanwhile, Bernama quoted EC deputy chairman Azmi Sharom as saying the recommendation by Global Bersih to allow absentee voting for voters living in Sarawak or Peninsular Malaysia is not possible for now.

However, he said any improvement would be made only if it does not affect transparency of the voting process.

“The EC will continue with efforts to improve the postal voting process apart from exploring alternative options for PLK voters (absentee voters).

“This is being looked into under our improvement plans and a committee has been formed to study the matter.

“This is a process that cannot be made in a rush as any improvement must be made with caution,” he said in a statement today.

Global Bersih had called on the EC and the federal government to amend existing regulations to allow Sabahan and Sarawakian voters living in Peninsular Malaysia and vice versa to be registered as absentee voters.

The postal voting facility is currently only provided to registered voters living outside Malaysia and registered as absentee voters. - FMT