Malaysians are enthusiastic about casting their votes ahead of the general election on Wednesday. Many said they were prepared to travel for hours and spend money to take part in the election.
By
KRIS RAZIANTO MADA
·4 minutes read
REUTERS/LAI SENG SIN/FILE PHOTO
A police officer fills his ballot paper during the early voting ahead of the 14th general election on May 9, at Bukit Aman police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia May 5, 2018.
KUALA LUMPUR, KOMPAS – Malaysians are enthusiastic about casting their votes ahead of the general election on Wednesday. Many said they were prepared to travel for hours and spend money to take part in the election. Previously, they have also registered themselves to the local election commissions.
Mohammad Noor, 26, who hails from Kelantan, left his home in Selangor for his hometown on Sunday. He hopped on a bus and spent at least 15 hours to reach his hometown. “I will use my right to vote. In the last election, I was not yet eligible to vote,” he said in Selangor.
He must return home to Kelantan as he is still registered as a resident there on his ID card. Voters can only register to vote at the address stated on their ID cards. Citizens 21 years old and above are eligible to vote.
Kuala Lumpur resident Pang Swan, 28, said that all of his family members had registered to vote this year. In the 2013 election, they waived their right to vote. “I want change. I will go home on voting day. It’s not far, just one hour by car,” said the young entrepreneur.
Malaysians’ enthusiasm to vote is reflected in the “Pulang Mengundi” (“Come Home to Vote”) movement, which was launched as a social media campaign in March this year. The movement asks eligible voters to return home to cast their vote where they are registered. There is also a movement that seeks to cover travel costs for people wanting to go home and vote.
“It is a pity that I was late to register. Some of my friends received the travel money,” said Fajri Anuar, a student from Trengganu at a college in Selangor.
Losing voting rights
With regards to early voting on Saturday, May 5, policeman Ahmad Zahar, 38, reported that he had lost his voting right. He had registered for the early voting designated for Malaysia’s 278,590 law enforcement personnel and their family members. “I waited for three hours and I found out that I could not vote. I want this investigated,” he said.
In his report, he claimed that he was told that he had voted at another polling station. He denied this and showed that he had no ink stain on his fingers. Then, after waiting for a few hours, Ahmad was told by the polling station officials that he could not vote.
Electoral reform movement Bersih 2.0 also voiced its concerns over citizens losing their voting rights. The movement, which has held numerous protests against the government, said that hundreds of eligible voters, most of whom are registered to vote by mail, had yet to receive their voting invitations.
Malaysian General Elections Commission (SPR) data shows that 299,000 voters are registered to vote by mail. Furthermore, 118,913 police personnel and 159,677 military personnel and their family members were eligible for early voting on Saturday last week. There are also 12,000 voters abroad. On the main voting day, only 14.3 million people out of 14.9 million eligible voters will cast their votes.
Yap Swee Seng said that he was worried votes cast by mail would not be included in the final election tally. The SPR stipulates that votes by mail must be received by organizers on Wednesday, May 9, at 5 p.m. at the latest. Mail arriving later than that will be disregarded.
Meanwhile, politicians are increasing their attacks on each other ahead of voting day. Prime Minister Najib Razak recently attacked Mokhzani Mahathir, the son of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. The attack was a response to Mokhzani’s comment on the Bantuan Rakyat 1 Malaysia (BR1M) direct cash assistance program. “Mokhzani is rich. Of course he does not need BR1M. He does not need to belittle BR1M recipients. I know Mokhzani’s company’s track record when his father was still in power,” Najib said.
Politicians in the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN), also attacked Mahathir’s three colleagues Rafidah Aziz, Daim Zainuddin and Rais Yatim. The former ministers in Mahathir’s cabinet were urged to publicly declare their assets.
The attacks were a response to Rafidah, Daim and Rais’ previous criticism of BN. Because of the criticism, Rafidah and Daim were fired from their party while Rais is still under investigation.
