It has been a long time since Nirmala Devi Windgaetter could call Malaysia home. Having moved to Germany in 2000, she jokes that she has now spent more of her life there than in the country where she was born.
Yet whenever she meets fellow Malaysians overseas, conversations inevitably turn to home - how things were, how they are, and how they should be.
“It is a sign that we, overseas Malaysians, are interested in what's happening in the country. We are very interested in the policies and everything, really,” she said in an interview with Malaysiakini.
Those conversations eventually drew Nirmala into Global Bersih, a diaspora-led group established in 2011 to support electoral reform and strengthen Malaysia’s democracy.
She joined the movement after meeting its then-president Bala Chelliah in Geneva, who asked her to contribute as a writer.
What began with writing soon became much bigger.
Today, Nirmala is Global Bersih’s president, describing her role less as a title than a willingness to do whatever needs doing.
“I have this joke that goes: if there's a toilet to be cleaned in Global Bersih, or a minister to be met, Nirmala will do it,” she said.
Nirmala is not alone
But Nirmala is far from the only Malaysian who has chosen to remain invested in a country from thousands of kilometres away.
For Pamela Wong, who has lived in Auckland, New Zealand, for 29 years, that commitment stems from a similar belief that distance should not determine whether Malaysians get a say in their country’s future.
“I couldn't just sit back and watch Malaysians abroad get shut out of the democratic process simply because of postal delays or rigid bureaucracy.
“Volunteering my time was about ensuring that living overseas never means being silenced,” she said.
Wong first supported Global Bersih during the 14th general election in 2018, when she and other Malaysians in New Zealand organised runners to collect postal ballots and fly them back to Malaysia before polling day.
The experience convinced her that last-minute rescue efforts were insufficient, prompting her to join Global Bersih’s steering committee in 2020. Wong is now its secretary-general.
“Distance doesn't diminish your stake in your homeland's future. No matter how many years I've lived in Auckland, my roots, family, and heritage remain deeply connected to Malaysia.
“Democracy only works if every citizen’s voice counts,” she stressed.
Women behind the scenes
Their story is, in many ways, a reflection of the wider community behind Global Bersih - one that Nirmala describes as increasingly driven by women.
Its current steering committee is made up almost entirely of women, with only one male member.
For Nirmala, the difference is not simply about numbers, but about how the organisation approaches its work.
She believes the women in the movement bring a strong instinct for protection and inclusion, putting emphasis on safety, accountability, and practical solutions when systems fall short.
That was evident during the 2023 state elections, when Global Bersih found itself once again relying on volunteers scattered across different countries to get ballots home.
When it was announced that other NGOs would stop collecting ballots two days before polling day - potentially leaving many voters without enough time to return theirs - the group stepped in despite being geographically divided.
In New Zealand, Wong kept track of the operation through a spreadsheet, monitoring how many ballots were being sent to each state and whether they had reached their destination.
Meanwhile, in Germany, Nirmala crowdfunded money for domestic flights to areas that would have taken considerably longer to reach by road.
Behind each ballot was someone making a phone call, giving up time, paying for transport or simply agreeing to help.
Wong said it is moments like these that keep her returning to Global Bersih.
“Seeing ordinary citizens, volunteers, and international runners coordinate seamlessly across oceans just to safeguard a single vote - that exact moment of collective trust and civic devotion made all the sleepless nights instantly worth it,” she said.
How much longer?
However, the same experiences have also exposed the cost of relying on civil society to keep the system for exercising civic duty functioning.
At the heart of Global Bersih’s work is an uncomfortable question: how long can goodwill carry a voting system?
“So, you see this human story, and you see that people really believe in it. But how sustainable is it?
“How many elections are people going to do this until they burn out? In fact, people are already burning out now,” Nirmala said.
While there has been progress in the overseas voting system, Wong believes voting should become seamless enough that Malaysians abroad do not have to fight the same logistical battle every election.
Global Bersih has long pushed for changes including more accessible overseas voter registration, simpler ballot procedures and better ways to verify ballots without relying on another Malaysian witness.
The aim, ultimately, is not to build a more efficient volunteer network, but to make the volunteer network unnecessary.
Because for the Malaysians they represent, living overseas should not mean their voices slowly disappear from Malaysia’s democracy.
As Wong put it: “Democracy isn't a spectator sport; it’s something you actively maintain.”
“Cast your vote, hold institutions accountable, and take ownership of Malaysia's future - because if you don't use your voice, you let others decide it for you.” - Mkini
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