KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 — The Election Commission (EC) does not intend to allow non-Malaysians to act as witnesses on the postal ballot documents in the country’s election.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Ramkarpal Singh said this is because the Identity Declaration Form (Form 2) is a legal document under the postal voting regulations which only Malaysian citizens can complete.
“The EC also does not plan to allow voters to download and print postal voting documents like Form 2 and the ballot paper for any election.
“This is because issuing documents related to postal ballots also involves an administrative process to count and tally the postal ballot papers by election workers,” he said during a special chamber session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Ramkarpal was responding to Bakri MP Tan Hong Pin’s speech in the special chamber about the number of overseas postal voters, and whether the government would consider allowing its embassies abroad to handle the postal voting process.
Based on the EC website, only a Malaysian aged 18 and above can be a witness on postal ballot documents.
Meanwhile, the minister said he will look into complaints about the short application period for postal ballots for an election, resulting in traffic congestion on the EC website.
“I understand that traffic flow is a matter that needs to be looked into deeply… this will be examined further concerning the steps to be taken to improve it,” he said.
Any announcement about postal voting for an election would be made through the print and electronic media, in addition to the EC’s official social media platform.
“The EC is also working with the Foreign Ministry to disseminate the latest information on an election, especially regarding the polling date, as well as the opening and closing dates to apply as category 1B overseas postal voters,” Ramkarpal said.
— Bernama
