Make voting easier

 

Since the announcement of the dissolution of Parliament on Oct 10, I’ve been getting messages about how important one’s vote is and how Malaysians working or residing in foreign countries can go about participating in the 15th general election (GE15).

These messages have been written by concerned Malaysians and most of those receiving the messages are sharing them with their group of friends.

I’m certain such messages will increase now that the Election Commission (EC) has announced that nominations will be held on Nov 5 and polling on Nov 19.

I also received a video clip about how 14 youth organisations, including Undi18, plan to coordinate the collection of ballots marked by Malaysians overseas and fly them back home.

This, of course, is not the first time such efforts have been undertaken. In the previous general election, for instance, many Malaysians abroad raced against time and the impractical deadline set by the EC for postal voters to bring home the ballots.

This was because, by some strange reasoning, the EC decided that voters would be sent their ballots via Pos Malaysia’s courier service and that they would have to return the marked ballots themselves by the stipulated deadline although in the 2013 election, the foreign ministry handled the delivery and return of postal votes via its high commissions and embassies.

Given such constraints in 2018, some Malaysians actually flew back, carrying the ballots of fellow Malaysians, so that they’d make it in time for the EC to accept the ballots.

Those were wonderful people indeed. And almost all of them were youngsters. I’m so proud of them.

And I am also proud of the current crop of young people initiating efforts to help overseas Malaysians cast their votes. It’s clear they love their nation and want a say in its future. Bravo guys.

But wait a minute… isn’t this the work of the EC? Isn’t one of the tasks of the EC to educate and get as many citizens as possible to vote? Isn’t it one of the duties of the EC to ensure Malaysians abroad are given all the assistance necessary to cast their vote?

I suppose we can see it as a reflection of the sad state of affairs in our nation or the laudable activism of our youngsters who want to assist the EC fulfil its duties.

From the messages, I can see that many are concerned about postal votes, especially those of Malaysians residing or working overseas.

I’m glad to note that the EC acted speedily by opening applications for domestic and international postal voting on the day Parliament was dissolved. Well done to the EC.

I hope the applications are approved fast and that every Malaysian abroad (and those residing in Malaysia) who is eligible and wants to vote gets a chance to do so. I hope no “technicalities” or other reasons are invoked to deny the acceptance of any ballot.

In GE14, the then EC chairman Mohd Hisham Abdullah had to apologise to voters who received their postal votes late. That’s a lesson for the EC.

As it is the sacred duty of the EC to assist citizens of voting age to exercise their right, I would urge it to extend the postal voting privilege to out-of-state Malaysians as well. There are already calls to allow East Malaysians working in the peninsula this option so that they don’t have to spend money travelling home to vote.

This year, 5.8 million new voters will be eligible to vote following the introduction of the new law lowering the voting age to 18 and the implementation of automatic voter registration. This brings the total number of voters to 21.1 million.

More than 190 of the 222 parliamentary constituencies are expected to see an increase in new voters of between 10,000 and 50,000 each.

I do hope the EC, working on the complaints during and after GE14, has cleaned up the electoral roll and has rectified the problems pointed out by voters and groups such as Bersih. Already there are rumblings emerging from Sabah about the electoral roll, with several political parties expressing concern over a “shocking” spike of more than half a million new voters since the last state election in September 2020.

I also hope the EC gives clear directions to those stationed at nomination centres and polling stations so that they not only use common sense but also know how to swiftly handle problems that arise.

I don’t think the public would like to see a repeat of a potential candidate being denied entry to submit his nomination papers because he did not have an EC entry pass, as happened in 2018.

I would also urge the police leadership to instruct personnel to stay neutral and use common sense in handling situations on the ground. Police should also relax conditions for campaigning, including ceramahs, in upholding democratic ideals.

I do envisage some problems in GE15 as this is the first year of the implementation of the Undi18 law, and also because the EC has not exactly been effective in solving the recurring problems over the years.

Looking ahead, I think that with technology at our disposal, it is time to introduce electronic voting, which will make both voting and counting of ballots much easier. The EC should explore this option after GE15. We could learn from countries such as India and Brazil which adopted electronic voting decades ago.

The EC should also explore remote voting options, such as allowing someone registered as a voter in Sarawak who is working in Penang to cast his vote in Penang without having to return to his constituency to vote.

It should study the possibility of voting via a secure special app, similar to that used by banks. Today, many people use apps provided by banks to make their transactions, with banks putting in place various security measures to protect clients.

The use of technology should reduce costs and increase voter turnout, as it makes it easier to vote. It could very well encourage young people to vote, especially since there seems to be apathy among the younger set.

Whatever method is adopted, however, it should not compromise on security and should not allow for any hanky-panky.

One thing is certain this election – the EC will have its hands full. Things will get really messy if floods occur during the days leading up to polling and especially on polling day. Already we have reports of areas here and there being flooded.

To help smoothen the election process, we the voters have to cooperate with the EC and the police, and follow their advice. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect that of MMKtT.