Malaysians abroad should be given the rights to cast their votes simultaneously via online service during the next general election.

Some quarters say postal votes is old fashioned, online voting is the in-thing.

It is up to our Election Commission and government to kickstart an online voting service for Malaysian citizens working or learning or living abroad.

In fact, Singaporeans who were overseas had the chance to cast their votes for the first time during the last general elections in the republic.

They only have to go to the nearest Singapore Embassy to cast their votes on line.

Of course, there is much to learn from how Singapore did it.

They had opened nine centres worldwide to allow Singaporeans to practice their rights to vote for whom they wanted at the same time and day just like their countrymen were doing at home.

Why should politicians in Malaysia worry so much about their knowledge in local politics and scenarios?

Particularly, MCA reckons that these Malaysians abroad should not be allowed to vote during the next general election.

This is a case of double standards. Tell me, how you could bring back graduates, specialists and professionals to serve in Malaysia when they have been treated as an outsiders, in this case?

So long these overseas Malaysians are officially registered with EC as voters and their names appeared in the confirmed list of new voters, then, they should be given the rights and chance to vote during the general election.

Furthermore, the time for voting during the last general election in Singapore and at its embassies abroad actually started at 8am and ended 8pm, this really gave voters enough time and to make it to the polling stations. In comparison, the closing time is 6pm in Malaysia.

This is a reason for the huge voters' turnout in Singapore and partly because, the law stipulates, all registered voters must come out and cast their votes during an election, failing which their names will be deleted and that will disqualify them to vote in the next general election.

However, should they change their minds and want to vote in the next GE, then, they need to re-register themselves again as voters.

There is a service charge for doing this.

Oh Yes! On polling day there were nine overseas polling centres/stations opened for registered Singaporeans voters who overseas to go cast their votes on-line on the very same day when their fellow Singaporeans go to vote.

However, there is one regulation to comply and that is these Singaporeans overseas must go online to register themselves first as eligible voters before a given fixed dateline for registration of new voters at the embassy.

In fact,there are more than 10,000 registered Singaporean voters in Shanghai apart from other large numbers found in London, Hongkong, Macau and China.

All these voters can call at the designated embassy or at any of the appointed centres in the city to cast their votes on the same voting day. Yes! This is all done online.

Why Malaysia can't do the same for her citizens living or residing or working in overseas to cast their votes via on-line voting and, also can't the government and the Election Commission allow voters who are serving in the armed forces and police in hometowns and overseas to vote online as well on the same polling day too, instead of doing it by postal votes.

This is something the rakyat doesn't understand, like why we still have to hang on to postal voting in this time when we can use the Internet.

Of course, with IT, ICT and ITT the government could instruct the Election Commission to open up a few online overseas polling centres or stations to allow our fellow Malaysians working, learning or living overseas, who had registered themselves as voters, to cast their votes online on the same polling day at the Malaysian Embassy in the neighbourhood.

Surely, we can do the same. We have the Multi Super Corridor (MSC) Internet service network in the country, that we are so proud of, to allow the Election Commission to set up such online polling centres/stations overseas during the next general election - so how about that?

Henceforth, this should put a stop to all postal votes and so there is no need for voters who are serving in the police force and army, stationed in different regional states and abroad, to cast their votes a few days earlier, let alone, these voters should be allowed to vote online in the next general election on the same day - you see it makes a lot of sense.

Why go backward when you are miles in front?

The government and the Election Commission should tap the services and utility of our Multi-Super Corridor Internet services to run the next general elections, otherwise, there is no advantage having the Multi-Super Corridor Network in the country, come to think of it.

At the end of the day, PAP still won 81 seats against 87, after daringly allowing all registered Singaporean voters (local and abroad) to exercise the rights to vote in the general election - apart giving from nine days to all parties to hold public rallies.

Let's learn from Singapore and be as open, generous and democratic in our next general election which might take place in early 2012, barring any unforeseen circumstances or political situations.