THERE are about 400,000 Malaysians, many of whom are Johoreans working in Singapore.
However, the Vaccinated Travel Lane limits the number of voters that can travel back to vote in the upcoming Johor election.
The Election Commission (EC) must show a strong commitment to encourage more Johor voters to participate in the voting process.
Therefore, my colleague Teo Nie Ching (Kulai MP) urged the EC to set up overseas polling stations in the Malaysia High Commission in Singapore on polling day, so that more Johoreans can cast their votes. However, it fell on deaf ears.
Alternatively, the registration process to become postal voters must be simplified.
As of now, a voter needs to first register an account at the EC website, which may take one to two days to approve before he/she can login and register as a postal voter.
In other words, the registration process as a postal voter will take at least two days to complete. It is absolutely absurd.
In this day and age, there is certainly an easier way for Malaysians to register as postal voters.
EC should at least simplify the steps by allowing registration to be done at the same time as registration of postal voters.
Covid-19 is already making it difficult for voters to cast their ballots. The EC should not make it even more difficult for the democratic process to take place. – The Vibes, February 10, 2022
Yeo Bee Yin is Johor’s Bakri MP
