Make it easy for outstation folk to vote, says think tank

 

A think tank has suggested that the Election Commission extend absentee voting rights to outstation voters.

PETALING JAYA: A think tank has highlighted the need to make it easier for outstation citizens to vote, particularly those from East Malaysia.

Wisdom Foundation chief operating officer Zila Fawzi said voters should be able to exercise their right to vote despite barriers such as geographical distance.

“That’s what most East Malaysians face every time polls draw near, and their biggest issue is the cost of travel,” she said at the Conference on Necessary Pre-GE15 Reforms here.

She said this was also a common problem for overseas and outstation voters.

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Zila said it was estimated that nearly 500,000 Sabahans and Sarawakians live in Peninsular Malaysia.

Citing the Sarawak state elections as an example, she said that if half that number were Sarawakians, it would mean 250,000 voters boarding planes with a capacity of 160 passengers each.

“That would take more than 1,500 flights, just one way,” she said.

Zila suggested that the Election Commission (EC) implement several steps, including extending absentee voting rights to all East Malaysian voters outside their states. These voters should be allowed to cast their vote in the state they are in three days before polling day.

“If the EC can extend postal voting to those who are across the straits of Tebrau, it should not be rocket science for them to devise a mechanism for outstation voters,” she said, in reference to the EC accepting postal voting by Malaysian citizens eligible to vote in the Johor elections. - FMT