Once Parliament was dissolved yesterday, many excited Malaysians residing overseas began flooding the Election Commission (EC) website to register themselves as postal voters, but they were mostly left disappointed.

The website, which contains the an overseas voter application form known as “Borang 1B”,  has been inaccessible since yesterday. It is still not working as of 4.30pm today.

This had led to widespread complaints appearing on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter , mostly on the EC's inability to deal with such a minor issue.

Natalie Chia, who resides in Taiwan, told Malaysiakini that a Taipei-based group of Bersih 2.0 supporters had came to the rescue by distributing “Borang 1B” to Malaysians in Taiwan and China.

“They took over the responsibility of the EC and did it well,” said Chia, who added that the group had also established a telephone hotline to answer queries.

A Malaysian doctor working in England, who requested anonymity, was not as lucky and had only the EC website to rely on.

“The website was very slow. When I finally managed to access the webpage, the link to 'pengundi di luar negara' (overseas voters) did not work.

“As a result, I have missed the opportunity of being a part of the upcoming Malaysian election unless I make the 16-hour trip home, which is very difficult,” she told Malaysiakini .

EC's credibility affected

The doctor was unhappy that she had missed the deadline - midnight last night - to submit her application because of EC's inability to ensure that its website was functional.

Back in Taiwan, Chia said that she had received a reply from the EC that her application has been “received and is being processed”, but she is still not satisfied with the EC's performance.

“I don't feel safe because the EC can't even maintain a website,” she said.

She urged the EC to extend the deadline for overseas citizens to register as postal voters because closing applications within a few hours after the dissolution Parliament was too hasty.

“This policy has not been publicised sufficiently. Many overseas Malaysians do not know of this. The EC should have been better prepared,” she added.

However, Chia did compliment the EC for providing a proper template to help voters fill up the form.

She was also not aware that there was a 'Frequently Asked Questions' page on the website, because she could not access it.

The young doctor in England echoed the calls to extend the deadline.

“Though I have spent the last 11 years in UK, I have been closely following the political development in my home country. I strongly feel that the right to vote for Malaysian voters should be equal no matter where you are. After all, we are all rightful stakeholders of our nation.

“Therefore, I would strongly urge the government to reconsider extending the deadline of submitting postal vote application to allow the 700,000 Malaysian citizens residing overseas to have a chance to play their part in the upcoming election,” she added.

Recently, the EC had buckled under pressure from civil society to extend postal voting to all Malaysians residing abroad, except for southern Thailand, Singapore, Brunei and Kalimantan.

The EC began taking applications from January which ran until the day Parliament was dissolved, which was yesterday.

Inaugural effort

Thus far, many applicants said that after submitting their forms, the only communication from the EC was to state that their application was being processed.

The EC has previously said that applicants will be informed of their status only after nomination day, as well as the time and date to collect ballot slips from the nearest Malaysian diplomatic mission.

Voters are encouraged to cast their votes at the respective missions, although they may also return the ballot paper to the mission the following day.

If they choose to pick up the ballot paper outside of the designated time, they can post the ballot to an EC office in Malaysia - so long as it arrives by 5pm on polling day.

The EC also allowed observers from accredited bodies to monitor the voting process in the mission.

If the EC website is working, Borang 1B can be accessed here , while the guideline to fill up the form can be accessed here . A sample of the completed form can also be viewed here .

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