LETTER | Global Bersih is extremely concerned about the postal voting process for the 14th general election announced by Election Commission chief Mohd Hashim Abdullah for registered voters residing abroad.

It is particularly worrying that Pos Malaysia Berhad will be fully managing the sending and return of ballots. During GE13, there were about two weeks between dissolution of Parliament and nomination of candidates, and two weeks again between nomination and polling.

These very short intervals, in themselves problematic, are typical of recent Malaysian elections.

As regards overseas voting, the use of Pos Malaysia increases the risk of voters not receiving or not being able to return their ballots in time. No instructions have been provided on the return of ballots; it is highly unclear if they will reach constituencies by polling day.

The GE13 overseas voting process has great room for improvement; however, it was successfully implemented in many countries where Malaysians reside.

We therefore urge the EC to revert to using Wisma Putra to manage the overseas advance voting process, with the implementation of Global Bersih’s recommendations to improve the process, notably the counting of votes in each overseas polling centre in the presence of party representatives and neutral observers.

Global Bersih also finds problematic and disappointing the fact that Malaysians residing in Singapore, southern Thailand, Brunei and Kalimantan are not able to vote from overseas.

We estimate that about 1 million Malaysians, or more than half of the overseas Malaysian population, resides in those locations. These Malaysians risk being disenfranchised for logistical and financial reasons.

Other Asean countries have already led the way: In the last presidential election in Indonesia, voting facilities were provided for an estimated two million Indonesians abroad, without such arbitrary geographical restrictions.

Malaysians in these countries may live far from their hometowns in terms of travel time and cost relative to their incomes. In fact, it could be more difficult for a construction worker in Singapore to return to Bau, Sarawak, than for an accountant in London to fly back to Kuala Lumpur.

The EC has also not provided permanent overseas voting procedures. Instead, overseas Malaysians are being left in the dark about the overseas voting process every time a general election is called, until the last moment.

Global Bersih representatives in various cities have been in continual contact with their respective embassies for almost two years on the issue of overseas voting procedures. However, with just a few months to GE14, it appears that the embassies do not have any more information than what has been announced to the press.

The EC and Putrajaya have yet to respond Global Bersih’s recommendations on the overseas voting process, which were submitted in December 2016, and supported by a petition signed by more than five hundred Malaysians and friends overseas.

Free and fair elections are an essential component of democracy. Yet, instead of facilitating an accessible process to ensure that every Malaysian living overseas is able to cast a vote, and guaranteeing the security of every ballot, the EC’s proposed process is fraught with obstacles and question marks.

We urge the EC to engage all stakeholders on this very important issue of overseas voting lest hundreds of thousands of Malaysians living abroad be disenfranchised, as has already been the case in the twelve general elections held since the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.