The VoteMalaysia movement has urged the Election Commission (EC) to work with Malaysian embassies abroad to simplify postal votes.
The NGO coalition stated that this would resolve the issues involving the processing system.
“The ballots should also be delivered (to the voters) directly from the embassies to prevent logistical issues with courier services.
“Malaysians should also be allowed to mail their ballots to the embassies instead of the returning officers in order to avoid insufficient time for ballots to be delivered back (to Malaysia),” the group said during a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) in Kuala Lumpur today.
The postal ballot system has been under constant criticism from overseas voters and NGOs alike.
One of the main concerns is the system’s inconsistencies as many voters during the 15th general election (GE15) complained that they only received their ballot papers one day before or after polling day.
Some stated that their ballots were sent to different countries or different voters simply because they shared the same names.
In response to this, VoteMalaysia was created out of frustration by several youth organisations, such as Undi18, during GE15 as a volunteer effort to bring back postal ballots.
The group successfully returned a total of 35,092 out of 48,109 postal votes to their respective constituencies.
At the time, Undi18 advocacy director Tharma Pillai stated that he hoped the initiative would no longer be needed for future elections.
In fact, one of the primary objectives of the movement is to render itself obsolete by encouraging improvements in the EC.
However, Undi18 education director Qyira Yusri revealed today that the movement will once again volunteer for the upcoming state elections slated on Aug 12.
“We really hoped we wouldn’t need to do this again, but we have no choice.
“We would appreciate it if NGOs from every state can help us out for the state polls,” she added.
Funds for voters
Following the press conference, VoteMalaysia organised a panel discussion to explore recommendations to enhance the EC's voting system.
Featured on the panel were incumbent Bandar Utama state assemblyperson Jamaliah Jamaludin and incumbent Kota Anggerik state assemblyperson Najwan Halimi.
Also present were former Tualang Sekah state assemblyperson Nolee Ashilin and Bersih chairperson Thomas Fann.
Nolee, who is a Bersatu member, highlighted the struggles of voters who reside outside of their native states.
She specifically touched on the fact that voters from Sabah and Sarawak often cannot afford to return and vote due to the costly flight tickets.
“It’s cheaper to go to Singapore or Thailand than to fly to East Malaysia,” she added.
Nolee emphasised that her party has previously provided incentives for voters to return home. However, she said Bersatu was aware of the negative implications.
She lamented that the funds were not bribery but a form of financial aid, that is legal, which is often provided by any political party.
Jamaliah concurred, stressing that the government should be the one providing travel incentives to voters.
All four panellists followed the suggestion by stating that if the government was unable to create such a fund, domestic voters should be permitted to register for postal voting.
Fann added that not only will this system be more timely, but voters are also spared from the financial constraints of travelling.
Further, one of the recommendations that came up during the panel was that the EC should implement an online voting system.
Referring to how the EC’s website crashed after the previous Parliament announced its dissolution, Nolee urged the commission to study the suggestion precisely.
“When it comes to elections, we must convince the public that the system (online voting) works exactly as it is intended.
“It can be abused, or if anything goes wrong, the EC will be blamed,” Nolee said. - Mkini
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