It has been a month since the Election Commission (EC) announced the appointment of officials at Malaysian missions abroad to register overseas postal voters - but Malaysians in the United States are getting confusing instructions from the mission offices in that country.

In a statement issued today, the group, which calls itself Generation 709 in the United States (GEN 709 USA), said inquiries at Malaysian missions on the voter registration process have met with different answers.

"The consulate in New York City asked Malaysians to register themselves at the mission in person while the embassy (in Washington) asked Malaysians to mail their registration forms to the EC directly.

"Based on the current rules, each postal vote is privately witnessed by another Malaysian and then sent back to the EC by regular post. However the vice-consul of the consulate in New York City, Mohd Baki Kasim, told GEN 709 USA that absent voters must cast their votes at the mission."

The group also pointed out that the current regulations inhibit overseas postal voters because when their votes arrive by mail in Malaysia, they would be too late to be counted due to the short campaign period.

Therefore, GEN 709 USA urged the EC to assign officers to all embassies and consular offices, and to do the vote counting at Malaysian missions, which could also avoid allegations of fraud and malpractice.

'Revise rules on overseas voters'

The group demanded that the EC revises current regulations regarding overseas electors and postal votes.

"We are concerned about when the voting rights for all overseas Malaysian will be fully implemented."

The statement was issued after more than 100 Malaysians in the United States attended Malaysia Day gatherings and voter registration sessions organised by GEN 709 USA in Washington DC, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Minneapolis.

election commission chief abdul aziz yusof The group claimed that one of the attendees in Los Angeles found from the EC website that his old identity card number had been claimed by an unknown person, even though he hasn't registered as a voter yet.

On Aug 25, EC chairperson Abdul Aziz Yusof ( left ) said the commission was in the process of amending the election rules to expand the postal voting from only civil servants and full-time students and their spouses to all overseas Malaysians.

He hoped that the new policy could be implemented in the next general election.

However, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz said the proposal should be discussed and decided by the soon-to-be-formed parliamentary select committee (PSC) on electoral reform before it is adopted by the government.

Another group claiming to represent overseas voters, MyOverseasVote, has said the EC must send its proposed amendment within the next two months if it wants to implement the changes for the coming general election.

If it is done any later, Malaysians abroad who have not registered would be disenfranchised in the next general election, it said.