Rights of Overseas Malaysians to Postal Voting

Your Right to Vote

Article 119 of the Federal Constitution  provides that every citizen who has attained the age of twenty- one years on the date the electoral roll are prepared and is resident in a constituency on such a date or, if not so resident, is an absent voter

An absent voter means in relation to any constituency any citizen who is registered as an absent voter in respect of that constituency under the provisions of any law relating to elections.http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Malaysia#Article_119

Who is an Absent Voter

The Federal Constitution did not define who is an absent voter.  The Elections act 1958 however empowers the Election Commission to prescribe facilities for voting by post and the persons entitled to vote  by post as an absent voters.

Section 16 Elections Act empowers the EC and EC gazetted the Elections  (Postal Voting) Regulations 2003 setting up provisions relating to an absent voter. An absent voter is:

(1) a member of any regular armed force of Malaysia or a Commonwealth;

(2) a Malaysian public servant stationed overseas;

(3) a full-time student in higher education;  and

(4) a member of any category of person designated as postal voters by the Election Commission from time to time  by notification in the Gazette.

As a direct result of the demand of civil society for electoral reforms and the allegations of phantom voters, the government set  up  the the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) in October last year.

The nine-member PSC - five from Barisan Nasional, three from the Opposition and one Independent MP - started work on the report on Oct 2 last year.

 On April 3, 2012,the psc submitted its final report to Parliament.

The Report gave the Election Commission (EC) three months to formulate a mechanism to enable overseas voting for all Malaysians abroad.http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/Malaysia/article/psc-gives-ec-three-months-to-enable-overseas-voting 

The PSC said the three-month period would come into force from the date the report is approved by parliamentarians in the Dewan Rakyat.

“The committee recommends that the EC discusses with the authorities involved within three months from the date this report is passed by the House to enable the above requirements be enforced through the formulation of a legal framework,” the PSC said in the report tabled for debate in Parliament this morning.

The panel added that the proposal for overseas voting would involve several amendments to present laws, including section 16 of the Elections Act 1958, Election Offences Act 1954, Elections (Conduct of Elections) Regulations 1981, Elections (Registration of Electors) Regulations 2002 and Elections (Postal Voting) Regulations 2003.

 The Dewan Rakyat passed the Report without debate on 15 April 2012. 

Members from the opposition were ejected from the House when they insisted on a minority report to be inserted into the PSC Report. 

This effectively slammed shut all debates on the report and it was railroaded through Parliament.http://www.nst.com.my/latest/psc-report-on-electoral-reforms-passed-in-parliament-1.70331

Implementations of the PSC Recommendations and Future Posts

In accordance with the PSC recommendation, the EC is supposed to formulate a mechanism to enable overseas voting for all Malaysians abroad within three months.  This Blog will keep  track of  all the steps taken by the EC to implement the PSC Recommendations, including detailing  the necessary procedures to be adopted to be registered for postal voting.