WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
Former de facto law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar previously told parliament that the EC would abolish conditions for postal voting which were put in place during GE14 back in 2018.
According to local media, only those who had lived in or returned to Malaysia for 30 days or more in the past five years, could apply for postal voting.
Previously, those who were living in southern Thailand (Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, Songkhla and Satun), Singapore, Brunei or Kalimantan did not qualify for postal voting and had to travel to Malaysia to cast their ballots.
The above conditions have been abolished.
“With the abolition of these conditions, Malaysian citizens who are abroad and are registered voters are eligible to apply as postal voters,” Mr Wan Junaidi said in a parliamentary written reply to a question by then Jerlun member of parliament Mukhriz Mahathir in early October.
According to Global Bersih – an international movement of overseas Malaysians – all overseas Malaysians above the age of 18 who have a permanent overseas address and have registered on the EC website are eligible for postal voting.
This includes students who are overseas. However, those who are on holiday overseas will not be allowed to register as postal voters.
Applicants must provide details such as their passport numbers, reasons for living overseas and their mailing addresses.
According to Global Bersih, those who voted in the previous elections via post will need to submit a fresh application as a postal voter for every election.
Additionally, those who have registered could check the status of their applications on the EC website. If the applications are successful, voters would also receive an email confirming their application.