The Election Commission must send its proposed amendment to extend postal voting to all Malaysians overseas within the next two months if it wants to implement the changes in the coming general election.

Saying this in a statement today, pressure group MyOverseasVote added that doing so any later would mean that Malaysians abroad not yet registered as postal voters would miss out.

NONE "Adequate time must be left for Malaysian citizens to register under the new regulations so they can be registered in good time for the next general election," it said.

The group, which advocates voting rights for Malaysians overseas, was responding to a statement by EC chief Abdul Aziz Yusof, who said regulations would be amended to extend postal voting to all Malaysians in other countries, "hopefully" in time for the next general election.

While it is "gratified" that its lobbying work over the past year has borne fruit, the NGO also urged the EC to publish the proposed amendments so that the mechanics could be scrutinised.

The group, which consists of Malaysian citizens living overseas, also pointed out that overseas postal voters must also be allowed to cast their ballots in advance.

It noted that under the current postal voting practice, postal ballots are sent directly by constituency returning officers to absent voters by post, and the ballots had to be returned to the constituency returning officers in the same manner.

'Ensure ballots to and from voters are not intercepted'

For many parts of the world, it said, this process could take at least three weeks and may warrant advance voting or a longer campaign period.

"Either the campaigning period must be sufficiently long for postal ballots to be sent and returned in the normal manner, or the EC must consider implementing a system of advanced voting at Malaysian missions overseas," it said.

MyOverseasVote also raised concerns over security of the postal vote, urging the EC to ensure that the proposed amendments would guarantee that the ballots will not be intercepted on the way to or from the voters.

It added that for the proposal to work, the EC and Wisma Putra must equip Malaysian missions overseas with the knowhow and resources to deal with voter registration.

"For too long, the EC and Wisma Putra have simply pointed the finger at one another and made excuses for the fact that Malaysian missions have routinely turned away Malaysian citizens who wished to register to vote," it said.

Yesterday, Aziz said that the EC has started work on this, by appointing assistant registrars at all Malaysian missions.

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