Malaysian students overseas: you can vote!
I’m posting [UPDATES] on top of this post. Remember, if the consulate, high comms or embassy gives you an unsatisfactory answer, keep on asking why until you get an answer or as Med puts it ‘bombard the consulates and high comms for clarification’. Documentation of all correspondence are important as evidence of their complacency. Please keep those emails coming in! :)
[UPDATE] Tirath just wrote in with this!
STUDENTS IN MELBOURNE… go to Malaysia Hall tomorrow (Weds, 27.02.08) for absentee ballot registration:
Malaysia Hall Melbourne
K4, High Street
Windsor VIC 3181
Tel: +613-9529 4507
Fax: +613-9529 4509The High Comm. in Canberra only *just* started organizing all this (10 minutes before closing time), so fingers crossed that everything gets sorted properly. Tomorrow is the ONLY CHANCE to register. DO YOUR CIVIC DUTY FOR A BETTER MALAYSIA!
[UPDATE] Yen wrote that the Malaysian Embassy in Berlin no longer accept registration for postal voters since Oct 2007. Interesting, they predicted the elections! Anyway, the Borang A forms are still available at other Malaysian consulate branches in Germany. Please click document below for contact details.
Letter from Malaysian Embassy in Berlin.
[UPDATE] Calling all students in New York, this is how you can vote! Thanks to Carolyn for the information. I’m reproducing her comment below:
For those in NYC, these are the details
1. If you’ve not registered, you have to go to the Malaysian Consulate General located at 313 East 43rd Street, NY.
2. Get the Borang A and fill it up.
3. The people will send it back to Malaysia for the registration. Or something to that effect.
According to the man I spoke to, Mr Raimy (sp.?), they will be emailed an electoral roll one week prior to the elections. If your name is on it, you can vote on March 8.
The phone number for the Consulate General - 1-212-490-2722 / 23
Hours are: 9am - 4pm
Original post:
All Malaysian students who are registered to vote can participate in the coming general elections! The process is rather obscure because many don’t know it is possible. I found a website that gives you a step by step guide on how to get registered as a postal voter in United Kingdom. Watch and learn. And do it! :)
Thanks to Lay Chin for the info (which is taken directly from her website. Please contact her for more details!)
Elections (Registration of Electors) Regulation 2002 states the following is qualified to perform postal voting:
1. in the public service of the Government of Malaysia or of any State or in the service of any local authority or statutory authority exercising powers vested in it by Federal or State law, who is on duty outside the boundaries of Peninsular Malaysia or Sabah or Sarawak;
2. the spouse of a person in the public service of the Government of Malaysia or of any State or in the service of any local authority or statutory authority exercising powers vested in it by Federal or State law who is living with her or his husband or wife outside the boundaries of Peninsular Malaysia or Sabah or Sarawak at the date of application for registration as a Parliamentary or State elector,
3. engaged in full-time studies at any university, training college or any higher educational institution outside the boundaries of Peninsular Malaysia or Sabah or Sarawak; or
4. the spouse of a person engaged in full-time studies at any university, training college or any higher educational institution outside the boundaries of Peninsular Malaysia or Sabah or Sarawak who is living with her or his husband or wife at the date of application for registration asa Parliamentary or State elector.
If you fall under any of this categories you may apply through the Malaysia embassy located nearby. Upon completion of the form (Borang A),you can submit it back to the embassy or can mail it to EC HQ in Putrajaya. Thank you.
ANYWAY. Students.
Okay, so now this is what you should do ASAP.
1) You should contact the Malaysian Students Department at 020-79851252 or go to http://www.masduke.com/.
2) Ask for them to send you Borang A.
These are what they look like.
There is this lovely, polite woman named Suzana who should help you just fine with this, and she’ll answer any questions you might have.
2. Also, if you have any questions for the embassy itself, go to http://www.kln.gov.my/perwakilan/london or call 02072358033. The one to talk to is Mr Ravi Pillay (at least I think that’s the spelling)
3. For those who want to check your name on the electoral roll, go HERE. (My recent check left me in horror when I couldn’t find my name, then I realised I had been typing my student number quickly instead of my IC. Yesh, I am losing some brain cells)
Now. What am I doing about all this?
I am going to haul ass to the embassy at Belgrave Square on Friday to fill this all in, with my passport, right in front of them and all.
If there is anybody out there who knows how to register with the relevant authorities and get that Borang A in your respective countries, PLEASE EMAIL ME THE DETAILS and I will update the blog accordingly.
This is a link to ALL Malaysian embassies, high consulates and high commissions. Please contact them and get the details on how to be a postal voter.
February 19th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Can someone please CONFIRM that overseas students can actually participate in *this coming election*? The Malaysian embassy in Canberra suggested to me that it’s already too late (although they are really a bunch of idiots who don’t know anything). My impression is that the move needed to have been made before Feb 5th, i.e. before the last gazetting of the rolls?
February 19th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Just to clarify my last comment, I am wondering if you are *currently* registered in Malaysia such that you can vote locally by going to a local polling center (Lembah Pantai in my case), can you instead arrange *now* to vote postally if you are currently studying overseas? A few students in Melbourne are in this situation.
February 19th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
yes! as long as you’re a registered voter, you can check with the malaysian consulate on how to register to be eligible for postal voting. i’m unclear if they themselves know the process but we won’t know unless you try and try to speak to somebody from top level cos i doubt those human answering machines know anything :)
re: the first comment, how could you have registered anytime before feb 5th when we had no clue when the elections were? there shouldn’t be a deadline as to when you can register for postal voting. try and let me know how it goes, please! good luck!
February 20th, 2008 at 12:47 am
For those in NYC, these are the details
1. If you’ve not registered, you have to go to the Malaysian Consulate General located at 313 East 43rd Street, NY.
2. Get the Borang A and fill it up.
3. The people will send it back to Malaysia for the registration. Or something to that effect.
According to the man I spoke to, Mr Raimy (sp.?), they will be emailed an electoral roll one week prior to the elections. If your name is on it, you can vote on March 8.
The phone number for the Consulate General - 1-212-490-2722 / 23
Hours are: 9am - 4pm
I’m going down there tomorrow (it’s near my college) and making sure I register as a voter.. at the very least. Pray I can vote. I really pray I can vote! And I pray my vote is not prey to electoral fraud…… >.
February 20th, 2008 at 6:36 am
Hi,
Only just come across your site. Was at the High Commission in Belgrave Sq today and was at MSD yesterday. You are right about contacting Mr. Pillai. He was extremely helpful.
If you have not registered to vote before it is possible to register outside of Malaysia, although it is certainly too late to do so now as the form must be sent back to KL/Putrajaya. I was told precisely what tirath states above, namely that to be eligible to vote come 8th March 2008 your details must be on the Electoral Roll that was already gazetted on Feb 5th. This is precisely the predicament I find myself in as I have not registered to vote before. I shall therefore not be able to cast my vote.
Nevertheless, I was shocked to discover a few days ago that people who do not fall into the 3 categories cannot submit a postal vote. This excludes a great number of Malaysians who are working/residing overseas. There are two Regulations that govern this and they are dated 2002 and 2003. In other words, they are very new.
What is the justification for excluding these other people? Their voices should matter just as much as the rest of us. The law should be changed to ensure that all Malaysian citizens of voting age are able to vote, irrespective of the country they are in.
February 20th, 2008 at 6:48 am
[…] February, 2008 by shmishtabel Check this out…detailed instructions on how to vote if you’re a Malaysian student studying in the […]
February 20th, 2008 at 8:19 am
Polytikus, I have read (as you have I’m sure) on many blogs and other sites that many overseas students have tried but have been turned away by consulate officers, who say only government scholars can register for postal voting.
Please get all overseas students to bombard their consulates and high comms for clarification. Thanks.
February 20th, 2008 at 8:59 am
[…] read this post by Politikus. I have actually given up to vote in this coming GE since all the answer i receive was negative. […]
February 20th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
[…] Please see post on Politikus: http://polytikus.com/2008/02/19/malaysian-students-overseas-you-can-vote/Â […]
February 20th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Hey Politikus,
Just got a phone call the other day from my friend in UK. She’s working there.
Anyways, she’s NEVER registered to vote and neither has this other guy. But guess what?
They checked online and found out that some ‘hantu penjaga’ registered for them.
Now they’re wondering who’s going to vote on their behalf on polling day.
I hate Rashid the kurap dog that he is.
February 20th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Hi, I was a student in The Netherlands but I just graduated recently in November 2007.
I am currently working in The Netherlands and is it possible for me to vote?
The information on this website showed how a student abroad can vote but does not tell me how a working Malaysian abroad can vote.
Can anyone please tell me?
February 20th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
[…] 今天去塑胶鼠和英女王那潜水，发现原来在国外留学的大马同学是有权力投票的！那是法律说的哦。不过法律又说在国外工作的大马公民（除了打政府工的）却不可以投票。好像西北不公平哦！ […]
February 20th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
sorry minyin, the law expressly states full time students. but if you could assist malaysian students over there to vote, it would be great! :)
February 20th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Wrote to the embassy (berlin) today and was told that the registration for the oversea voters was closed on october 2007 for the coming election.
February 20th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Hi,
I am currently studying in Wisconsin, U.S. I registered to vote when I went home over summer hoping to be able to play a part in this upcoming elections. Unfortunately, I later learned that you can only vote in person at the Malaysian General Consulate. Since Malaysia closed it’s branch in Chicago, (which is only 1 1/2 hours away by bus) I am left with the option of flying all the way to New York, the next closest one. It’s unfair and disappointing that the government makes it so hard for their CITIZENS to vote. ALL OF US, regardless of whatever we’re doing abroad should be able to vote. And we should be able to submit our votes by mail instead of in person only. The government knows that those abroad are probably more exposed and less likely to believe the *cough* ahem…facts *cough* ahem…that are being fed to the rakyat back home and that’s why they’re making it difficult! I hope everybody will do their part and do what’s best for the country.
P/S: I enjoy reading your blog although I do not always agree with yor thoughts. Nevertheless, I am proud that Assunta has produced students like you. GO ASSUNTA! =)
February 21st, 2008 at 12:21 am
yen: thanks for your comment but was that registration to vote or to be a postal voter? the embassy cannot say the registration is closed in oct 2007 cos NOBODY knew when the elections were! perhaps you could request the embassy to clarify matters further? thanks!
i-chen: thanks. interestingly enough, assunta exposed to me to the first politicking experience. that either the head or asst prefect must be malay. had i discovered my activist side, i would’ve made a lot of noise to miss indra and pibg then. on the whole ‘all malaysians should be able to vote’ issue … i stress the importance in denying BN a 2/3 majority that gives them the ultimate power to amend and pass ridiculous, oppressive legislation.
February 21st, 2008 at 6:05 am
I called Malaysian Student Department this morning. They gave me Suzana’s direct number : 02079851256.
She said the form required is Lampiran B instead of form A.
She will post the form to me and i will need to bring the form to the Embassy in Belgrade Square and sign in front of them(they will be my witness)
I asked Suzana some questions but she said she couldn’t answer me.
1. How am i going to vote if I do not know who is standing in my constituency?(I can vote before nomination day)
2. When is the final deadline to vote? Voting day is 8th March but it takes time for postal votes to arrive right?
She advised me to get it done ASAP. She also said that MSD was just given the form to distribute to students. SPR doesn’t have any office in UK. Neither did they appoint any agency to carry out postal voting in uk.
February 21st, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Canberra is still a no-go. They claim they have yet to be briefed by the EC.
If the parties do eventually get their act together, there will be very little time to waste - all Malaysian students in Australia who wish to vote will have to move very quickly. So, please e-mail the High Commision in Canbera (mhc_consular@netspeed.com.au) to register your interest to vote postally. Alternatively, the High Commision can be reached at 02 6273 1543.
Let’s hope for the best, and keep the pressure on them. If all of us pitch in, a 3 minute phone call a couple of times a day may light a fire under a few butts, at little cost to each of us.
February 21st, 2008 at 1:56 pm
oh.. there is SOMEONE registered me as a voter for me in Malaysia!! I am a registered voter without doing anything myself.
Anyway, I emailed them and trying to change my polling center to Seoul, Korea.
Hope they are not going to tell me whatever excuse or reason that I am too late for this G.E now.
February 21st, 2008 at 6:02 pm
UPDATE
Guys, I just called the Malaysian High Commission in London (`+44 02079190213), spoke to a Nazira about postal voting, since I was registered last year in Malaysia as a voter (first-time), but am now a student overseas. As my move overseas was not foreseen at that point of registering (nor the election dates being so annoyingly early), I did not bother to find out about registering as a postal voter.
Unfortunately, the sad news is that despite how much I want to vote, even if I fill in the Borang A form now, I cant be eligible to vote as I did not do it in time to be included in the last gazetted electoral roll published Feb 5. But if you do know that you will be overseas for the next 5 years or more as a full-time student, please register now for postal voting, in case you forget again. That’s my advice.
I’m afraid the only thing we can do is galvanise those of our friends/colleagues who are lackadaisical in Malaysia but already on the electoral vote to vote for flying dog’s sake, since they at least CAN, or organise some electoral awareness. On my part I’ve been harassing people (older relatives eeven) on facebook and on my mailing list. It’s been really disheartening but many young adults just can’t be bothered to vote, and are claiming that it won’t make a difference, but if everyone just had the same mentality, what’s the point of even bothering with an election for that matter? They want an early election, let’s give it to them, but let’s give it to them hard and spiky up where the sun don’t shine. For our own sakes, we need to vote.
February 21st, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Hi guys, Lauren is right. If you haven’t registered as a postal voter before 5 Feb, you can’t vote. I’ve written about this here - http://liltots.wordpress.com/2008/02/20/guide-to-voting-abroad/
February 21st, 2008 at 8:49 pm
not me though… i am overseas but not a student…
February 21st, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Thought I’d share an excerpt from a post by Marie Tan on malaysiavotes.com about how Msian students can register to vote (at least in the UK). She summarized it into 7 steps:
“So in a nutshell, here’s the process of registering as postal voter in seven relatively simple steps as I have found it to be:
1. First, and probably most important of all: register as a voter with the Election Commission back home in Malaysia.
2. Upon arrival/return abroad, hightail it to the High Commission/Embassy closest by and request for Form A.
3. Fill up Form A with your voter information, have it witnessed by the Consular Officer at the High Commission/Embassy and then sent back to the Election Commission.
4. Wait for Parliament to be dissolved and an election to be called for.
5. Await arrival of postal ballot.
6. Fill up postal ballot, send it back to the Election Commission and have it reach the Returning Officer by 5pm of Polling Day.
7. *Sit back and hope that your votes will count and make a difference.
*Step 7 = optional”
http://malaysiavotes.com/wp/2008/02/21/exercising-your-right-to-vote-as-a-student-abroad/#more-77
The website Malaysiavotes.com looks interesting too.
February 21st, 2008 at 11:09 pm
Tell this woman to vote lah, at least at the embassy.
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:21 am
I am a student in NYC. I just checked in with the Consulate-General here and my story is similar to Carolyn’s above (comment #4).
I also registered back in Malaysia. However, Mr. Raimy of the C-G informs me that I do NOT need to register again as a postal voter. As long as my name appears on the electoral roll (and one can check this online at www.spr.gov.my), I am good to go.
Good to go meaning I have to show up in person to the C-G to cast my ballot about one week ahead of polling date, March 8, to ensure that the ballots arrive in Malaysia on time. It seems that the C-G will assign one specific day for postal voting for those who qualify at their office. At the moment, that day has not been sent. One can send an email to malnycg@yahoo.com and asked to me notified about the NYC C-G polling date.
We’ll see how it goes in the weeks to come, but this clearly differs from the instructions given from the high comm in London!
February 22nd, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Don’t mean to be a party pooper, but I *suspect* that whoever has registered for postal voting after Feb 5th is actually registering for an absentee ballot in the *next* election… not this one. Of course I could (I hope) be wrong. If I’m right, then the system is clearly BROKEN.
But my point is, be vigilant and document your experiences thoroughly (with timelines etc.), then report back to some popular ‘watering hole’ like this comments thread or the VotED facebook group. In both these places, BERSIH’s people are listening. Let’s give them as much info as possible so that we can try to fix the system.
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:14 pm
[…] a friend led me to this site that says that Malaysian students overseas can vote: I would have to go to the Consular to fill up […]
February 25th, 2008 at 11:20 am
[…] I received, the deadline to register for postal voting was last October. This is consistent with information shared by someone from Germany on polytikus.com: “Yen wrote that the Malaysian Embassy in no longer accept registration for postal voters […]
February 26th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
STUDENTS IN MELBOURNE… go to Malaysia Hall tomorrow for absentee ballot registration:
Malaysia Hall Melbourne
K4, High Street
Windsor VIC 3181
Tel: +613-9529 4507
Fax: +613-9529 4509
The High Comm. in Canberra only *just* started organizing all this (10 minutes before closing time), so fingers crossed that everything gets sorted properly. Tomorrow is the ONLY CHANCE to register. DO YOUR CIVIC DUTY FOR A BETTER MALAYSIA!
February 27th, 2008 at 4:33 am
Overseas students and post graduates, I am moved by your spirits and enthusiasms. If it is too late to register or not able to vote this time for any reasons and you want a CHANGE, NeverGiveUp please participate by sending your contributions big or small to the following while there is still a little time left.
Nathaniel Tan Jin Ji
Acct: 514271070363
Bank: MayBank
ABA# or SWIFT or National ID: MBBEMYKL
If you do not know who is Nat by now you’d better be prepared to get some Roarings from Tikus.
February 27th, 2008 at 7:45 am
[…] see post on Politikus: http://polytikus.com/2008/02/19/malaysian-students-overseas-you-can-vote/ February 20th, […]
February 27th, 2008 at 8:07 am
er.. apparently according to the New Straits Times, the SPR has allowed 2 days for postal ballot registration in the UK, same as australia i guess. This is apparently due to the uproar among overseas students frantically searching the net to find a way. If that is true, tomorrow is the last day (27 feb). **I THINK you do have to already be registered to vote. So this is just for POSTAL Ballot. You need to get a Borang A from the students department in Bayswater and bring it to the High Commission at Belgrave Square to have it witnessed.
***BUT
note that counter 4 which handles postal ballot registration is ONLY OPEN FROM 9AM to 12PM. Went all the way there this afternoon to find a lady who was no help at all, just to find that i have to go back there again tomorrow morning. What are the chances anyone registers then. anyway, i’m just hoping tomorrow doesn’t expire 5pm Malaysian time (9am here in the UK).. MAYBE they’ll be hardworking for once and work overtime just for tomorrow. what are the chances..
and while i was there at the High Comm that lady told me that the official website for the High Comm is jimlondon.com. that didn’t pop up anywhere in google and who would’ve thought that that has anything to do with Malaysia. It’s a lousy site anyway. They can’t even spell ‘Malaysia’ correctly.
ps: sorry for the late notification and *clause*: i’m not sure if this info is correct.. it’s just my own experience..
February 27th, 2008 at 8:12 am
oops.. counter 4 in the High Comm in Belgrave Sq, forgot to mention. (it’s downstairs)
February 27th, 2008 at 8:15 am
er.. counter 4 at the High Comm in Belgrave Sq.. not sure if the previous comment went thru.. counter 4 is downstairs btw, if anyone makes it there..
February 27th, 2008 at 9:12 am
sorry for spamming.. the correct website is www.jimlondon.net. the earlier one is a fake.. this one is more professional. haha..
February 27th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
[…] for more, see polytikus! :) Tags-GE […]
February 28th, 2008 at 9:44 am
the info on jimlondon.net says it’s too late to register as a postal voter for this elections. any luck, eunice? and was the 27th really the last day?
February 28th, 2008 at 10:33 am
sue: it wasn’t. the NST article by lay chin came out later from when she wrote it. about 4 days to be exact.
February 28th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
so if i go to belgrave sq today or tomorow i might still be able to vote?
February 28th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
sue: no, you will not be able to vote. the dateline was feb 5, i believe.
February 28th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
damn. sorry, didn’t get the timeline there.