The parliamentary select committee (PSC) on electoral reform today urged the Election Commission (EC) to decide on how it is going to allow all Malaysians overseas to vote.

“The PSC has already recommended to allow Malaysian overseas to vote in the interim report but the Election Commission has not come back with a mechanism.

“The final PSC report must be adopted before April 2, we practically have two more weeks (to work on the report)... The EC cannot keep saying it needs time to study forever,” said PSC member Anthony Loke after the committee’s meeting this evening.

In the current system, only Malaysians overseas who are students or are serving with the government can register as postal voters.

Loke added that if the EC is unable to implement overseas voting, it must consider expanding the current postal vote for all Malaysians overseas.

“If the EC does not implement PSC’s recommendation, they have to answer to Malaysians overseas, they are in contempt of Parliament,” he said.

azlan PSC chairperson Maximus Johnity Ongkili stressed that the PSC “in principle” has decided that all overseas Malaysians should be allowed to vote.

“We are hopeful that before our term is over there will be some agreed manner in which it (voting for overseas Malaysians) can be done, the simplest is postal voting, but we don’t really know (when the general election is),” he said.

The meeting today, said Maximus, was to discuss on the outcome of the committee’s study trip to Denmark, Germany and the UK from Feb 21 to 28.

The PSC’s five sub-committees, which also provided their status report today, are expected to present their recommendations by March 14 to the main committee to deliberate on.

“Next week we will study the recommendations and decide on what we can agree,” he said.

The matters to consider in the May 14 meeting includes:

  • lowering voter age 21 to 18
  • improving electoral roll
  • determining principles of redelineation
  • automatic voter registration
  • state funding to political parties
  • alternative EC framework
  • political parties’ access to media
  • overseas voting
  • improving EC’s independence
  • changing electoral system
  • fixed term of parliament / campaign period

Maximus said another meeting on March 22 will be for finalising the report, and more meetings may be conducted before the April 2 deadline to fine-tune it.