Firstly, I would like to congratulate all elected representatives who have earned their mandate for the next five years in the just concluded Sarawak state election. Even from where I am in Australia, the excitement and passion radiated by both sides of the political divide could be felt.

Sadly however, despite being a registered voter, I was unable to exercise my constitutional right set out under Article 119 of the Malaysian constitution, as I am currently furthering my studies in Australia.

The Elections (Registration Of Electors) Regulations 2002 states that full time students outside Malaysia is to be considered as an “absent voter”, and thus eligible for postal voting to exercise their constitutional rights.

When the 2011 Sarawak state election was called on March 20, 2011, I immediately wrote to both the Malaysian High Commission in Canberra and the Electoral Commission in Putrajaya querying on the procedures that needed to be done to obtain a postal ballot. Both letters went unanswered.

Two phone calls were made at my own expense to the Malaysian High Commission on April 7 and 8 on this matter. I was given the run around, until I was given the phone number of one Mr Abdul Majid Husain who was in charge of this matter.

Despite calling the number multiple times, no one ever picked up the phone until the calls were redirected to the receptionist, where the whole process of ringing would be repeated all over again. An email address of Mr Abdul Majid Husain was eventually given to me, where all queries on this matter were also met with no reply.

Sadly, Malaysian students in Brisbane are familiar with the lack of presence of their nation’s representatives in the country. During the 2011 Brisbane floods, students affected by the waters were left to help one another and fend for themselves. This was in contrast to consular representatives from other nations, such as China and Saudi Arabia, who followed up on their nationals in the flood affected areas.

The total silence from the Malaysian High Commission to a query from their own nationals is unprofessional and totally unacceptable, and does not reflect the Rakyat Didahulukan, Pencapaian Diutamatakan spirit of 1Malaysia. 1Malaysia does not stop at the borders of Malaysia.