Yoursay Despite Electoral Obstacles Malaysians Never Give Up

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YOURSAY | ‘This is a resolute show of patriotism, courage, determination, and hope.’
Malaysian pilots, volunteers pitch in to fly thousands of ballots home
‘Gotong-royong’ delivers record overseas ballot
COMMENT | Malaysia’s diaspora sends tens of thousands of votes
GreenGiraffe9044: My greatest salute and praise to these volunteers who are willing to do their part so that the voices of our overseas compatriots are also heard in this 15th general elections (GE15). This is the Malaysia Boleh (Malaysia Can) spirit that I am proud of.
To those voters who are in the country, please do not disappoint your fellow countrymen and women who choose to exercise their rights even though they are living overseas as well as those volunteers who are going out of the way just to bring back these overseas ballots.
More importantly, don’t disappoint your children and your children’s children by not voting on polling day (today).
YellowGoose1142: I am so touched by what the volunteers are doing to bring back the postal votes. My daughter is a postal voter, and she was agonising over not receiving her ballot until she finally received it yesterday.
She then rushed to hand over her vote to the ballot coordinator last night. The coordinator is flying back to Malaysia today, and they will still have to send the ballots to the respective polling centres.
Shame on you, Election Commission (EC), for stressing everyone out.
ScarletHamster1885: To be honest, I’m touched and proud of all of you. For those in Malaysia who are still thinking about whether to come out to vote, take a look at these Malaysians.
These overseas Malaysians, facing all types of obstacles, did not give up and tried their best to fulfil their duty as citizens. This is a resolute show of patriotism, courage, determination, and hope.
Malaysier: A big thank you to these runners/volunteers. My son in Germany received his ballot papers on Nov 15. Without these volunteers, he could never have sent his ballot back to Malaysia by Nov 19.
EmEmKay: I am one of the volunteers bringing postal ballots from Indonesia. The collection is coordinated by Bersih and Undi18.
It is truly a great effort by the "runners" to transport the ballots all over Malaysia so that the papers reach the correct location.
LBoy: These efforts by simple Malaysians show that they are capable of doing a far better job than the EC itself.
It's a shame that the EC makes it difficult for the postal voters, and is silent on their remarkable efforts to make their votes count.
Hmm: It should be noted that hundreds of thousands of potential voters did not get to vote because the window of opportunity to register was so short (two weeks only) and not well publicised by the EC.
Hopefully, after the general election, Global Bersih will attempt to estimate the number of Malaysians who wanted to vote but were not able to register in time. This is voter suppression.
Anonymous_3f4b: Indeed, the EC should facilitate the postal votes and ensure that the thousands of Malaysians working, studying, and living overseas are given ample time and opportunity to send their postal votes home.
They should not burden these Malaysians by having them do extra work, incurring costs and time, something which should be the responsibility and domain of the EC which they are handsomely paid for.
The EC should strongly consider online voting for those Malaysians overseas or voting in the Malaysian embassies/High Commission/Consular or representative offices in line with the best and up-to-date global practices.
MS: This shouldn't be happening again after the 2018 general election. But it is. And it is premeditated by the looks of it.
All of which only means someone in the EC decided that delaying the ballots and therefore denying voters overseas their constitutional rights is the only way to save the bigots and racists ruling the roost.
Apollos: I cried when I read this article. I am truly grateful for all the voters who spared no effort to vote and the volunteers working hard to deliver the votes back home.
Malaysia has a chance with you guys around. Syabas!
GE15: EC issues step-by-step voting guidelines
Apanama is back: Bring along some tissue papers to wipe your left index finger. EC officials are so smart that they ask you to dip your left index finger before crossing your ballot paper.
Are Malaysians expected to fold the ballot paper with one hand? Or you use your mouth and right hand to fold the ballot paper?
In India, the ink is used to leave a mark on the left index fingernail after voters have crossed the ballot paper and before they leave the polling station - just one line mark on the fingernail.
VS: Yes, use only the right hand to hold your ballot paper as your index finger on the left hand has already been dipped in the ink. If the ink gets on your ballot paper by accident, they can count it as spoilt vote.
Common sense will tell you it is best to dip your index finger in the ink after voting to avoid this problem. - Mkini

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