KUALA LUMPUR: The Election Commission (SPR) has announced that non-Malaysians will not be allowed to act as witnesses on postal ballot documents for elections in Malaysia. This decision is based on the fact that the Identity Declaration Form (Form 2), which is a legal document under postal voting regulations, can only be filled out by Malaysian citizens.
Furthermore, the Election Commission does not have any plans to permit voters to download and print postal voting documents, including Form 2 and the ballot paper for any election. The issuance of such documents involves an administrative process designed for election workers to effectively count and tally the postal ballot papers.
This response was provided by Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Ramkarpal Singh during a special chamber session in the Dewan Rakyat. He addressed the concerns raised by Tan Hong Pin (PH-Bakri) regarding the number of overseas postal voters and the possibility of involving government embassies in the postal voting process.
The EC’s website states that only Malaysians aged 18 and above are eligible to serve as witnesses on postal ballot documents. In addition, Ramkarpal Singh has promised to investigate complaints about the short application period for postal ballots, which has led to traffic congestion on the Election Commission’s website.
He emphasized the importance of addressing the issue of traffic flow and stated that measures will be taken to improve it. Any announcements regarding postal voting for an election will be made through both print and electronic media, as well as the Election Commission’s official social media platform.
Ramkarpal Singh also mentioned that the Election Commission is collaborating with the Foreign Ministry to ensure the dissemination of up-to-date information on elections. This includes information on the polling date, as well as the opening and closing dates for category 1B overseas postal voters to apply.
The information was provided by Bernama news agency.
