Bersih's international chapter, Global Bersih, has embarked on a crowd sourced fundraiser to finance its operations ahead of the 14th general election.

The online campaign through the website chuffed.org, seeks to raise RM150,000 a year.

The money will be used to hire an administration co-ordinator, a communications manager, technical support, as well as fund advocacy and outreach programmes, and for administrative, transport and miscellaneous expenses.

The donations are to be made in Swiss francs, since Global Bersih is based in Geneva, although the staff hired will be based in Kuala Lumpur.

Contributors will receive rewards based on the amount pledged, which will range from a social media mention, to a handwritten thank you note from Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah and her predecessor Ambiga Sreenevasan, as well as a custom Zunar cartoon.

As of yesterday, the campaign has collected 1,430 Swiss francs (about RM5,810).

According to Global Bersih, its activities include lobbying the international community to pressure the Malaysian government into implementing electoral reforms.

It also said that Global Bersih keeps Malaysians abroad connected on issues back home, and provides training on the overseas voting process.

Overseas Malaysians, the electoral reform group said, would have a significant role to play in the next election.

"Bersih has produced evidence that the ruling government has manipulated the electoral process, which includes gerrymandering, phantom voters, a biased media and postal vote fraud.

"The 2014 Bersih people's tribunal delivered its verdict that GE13 was indeed marred by irregularities.

"One way to overcome this disadvantage for GE14 is to have even higher turnout of voters. That’s where overseas Malaysians, like yourself, can play an active role," Global Bersih said on the crowd sourcing website.

The current mandate for Putrajaya expires in April 2018, although Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak can decide to dissolve Parliament earlier to call for a snap general election.