Oversea Malaysians eager to vote in GE13, but...

A few Malaysian living overseas Astro Awani interviewed via e-mail said they had jumped at the opportunity when the Election Commission (EC) announced that they could sign up between Jan 21 till the dissolution of Parliament on April 3 to register.

However, many are now anxiously awaiting for a positive reply from the EC on whether they will be able to vote.

Tasneem Muhammad, 29, a Malaysian staying in the US, said that when she realised she had only until midnight Malaysian time to apply to be a postal voter the day Parliament was dissolved, she immediately did so.

“Voting is a right that only citizens have and therefore should not be squandered and wasted away,” said the sub-editor with local online portal based in Savannah, Georgia.

“I sent the form via email and until today, am still waiting for a reply from the EC on the status of my application,” she said, adding the EC should not have any reasons to reject her application.

Tasneem said that a problem she faced was being unsure of when the GE13 would take place. She was therefore unsure whether to register as a postal voter as she was already planning to return on Malaysia around the same time.

"I was planning to go back to Malaysia in April. If I register myself as a postal voter and the GE takes place while I’m in Malaysia, then I can’t vote. But if I hadn’t and it takes place while I’m in the US, then I can’t vote either!”

The former English teacher said that despite fears that EC would not be transparent or that her vote would be manipulated, she felt that it was her right as a Malaysian to cast her ballot.

“A friend of mine said I need not vote because I was overseas. To me that whole notion is just ludicrous. Why should I have to give up my right to vote just because I happen to be out of the country? Just because I don’t live in Malaysia does not mean I do not care about what happens to her.”

Eileen Ee-Narhi Sok Ling, a 27-year-old pre-school English teacher in Finland, said that she strongly believed it was compulsory for all Malaysians to vote.

“I strongly believe that people who doesn't vote, shouldn't complain. Voting should be compulsory for anyone that is eligible.It is not a matter of ‘yes, no, maybe, we'll see’. It's an important voice that should be heard,” she said.

Ee said that the moment EC announced that Malaysians that are away from home are now allowed to vote, she I downloaded the forms, printed them, filled them up and sent them.

“It has been a while now since I've sent in the forms. Still awaiting reply/confirmation from them,” she said, adding that she even took pictures of the forms as proof.

Ee said that she was not sure if she would face any issues as she was still waiting for EC’s reply and the EC’s website has been jammed for a few days now.

Meanwhile, Latifah Mohd Yusof, who is based in Yukon, Canada as a Digital Producer said that she felt that the authorities has made it very difficult for her to vote.

One of her concerns was EC’s condition that the oversea voter must have been in Malaysia for not less than 30 days in the last five years.

“I must visit home for more than 30 days in the past 5 years to qualify as a Malaysian citizen.

“Realistically, the standard annual vacation leave for working employees is between two-three weeks. I returned home three times in the past 5 years. Unfortunately, all trips visiting my parents were less than 30 days. My Borang 1B would have been rejected,” said Latifah.

Another issue which discouraged her to even register as a voter was that one has to personally collect the postal vote at the High Commissions in Canada. “But Canada is the 2nd largest country in the world (in terms of land mass). Expecting Malaysians to travel between provinces to pick up the postal vote is very expensive and inconvenient,” she said.

Recently, EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said that it was “quite disappointing” that there were only 6,298 Malaysians out of over 700,000 living abroad who have registered as voters for GE13.

In response to that, lobby group MyOverseasVote alleged that EC had “deliberately acted to restrict the number of eligible postal voters” for GE13.

Among other things, it complained that the EC had announced the arrangements too late; excluded Malaysians living in Singapore, Brunei, Kalimantan and southern Thailand from registering, which makes up over 400,000 Malaysians.