The Election Commission (EC) is seeking legal advice on whether the deadline for Malaysian expatriates to register as postal voters can be extended, EC chief Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said today.

NONE This is in view of numerous technical problems faced by voters trying to register themselves through the EC website.

“I have been made to understand that there are too many Borang 1B being submitted at the very last minute,” Aziz told Malaysiakini via SMS when asked.

He said he would seek the advice of the commission’s legal adviser before making a decision on the matter.  

Borang 1B is the form used for voter registration by Malaysians residing abroad. The closing date had been fixed as midnight after the dissolution of Parliament.

Swarms of Malaysians residing abroad have been trying to download the form from the EC website soon after the parliament was dissolved about noon on April 3.

This caused the website to be inaccessible and many netizens were fuming that they had missed the deadline as a result.

NONE A check at 2pm today showed a lightweight version of the website running, along with the notice saying, “EC’s website is currently under maintenance”.

Meanwhile, Australia-based Malaysian Lim Hoong Huei told Malaysiakini that although he managed to access the website, he could not submit his registration form.

Recounting several failed attempts to register himself as a postal voter due to changing rules, Lim said, “Now, I was told to use the link and register myself. I did but when I submitted it, it bounced back.

“I’m not sure if the server is not accepting it or any other issue. I have a friend in Sydney who was testing that and experiencing the same issue as well, so after a few attempts we just gave up.”

Lim said it would only be fair if the EC extended the deadline, and he would not consider flying back to Malaysia to vote because the airfare would be too costly.

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