Speed up postal voting reforms for Sarawakians, EC urged

KUCHING (March 28): The Election Commission (EC) has been urged to expedite key voting reforms amid ongoing electoral delineation process to ensure all Sarawakians can exercise their democratic rights with fewer barriers.

In making this call, Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii said Malaysia’s electoral system still excludes thousands of voters not by law, but by geography, cost and outdated processes.

“That is why I have pushed for reforms to allow Sarawakians in Peninsular Malaysia to vote by post or through any mechanism that optimises participation for citizens separated by distance,” he said in a statement on Friday.

He said postal voting should be made a permanent electoral reform to maximise voter participation and safeguard elections against disruptions such as pandemics.

He estimated that over 200,000 registered Sarawakian voters are currently residing in Peninsular Malaysia, including students, workers and families who are constitutionally entitled to vote but face prohibitive barriers.

“For many, returning home is not a simple flight to Kuching or Sibu; it involves long overland journeys, river travel and significant costs that can exceed a month’s salary,” he said.

He added that students often have to miss classes while workers must take leave or risk their jobs just to return home to vote, arguing that this effectively places a ‘wealth and mobility test’ on constitutional rights.

Dr Yii said postal voting would remove these obstacles and turn what is now a costly and time-consuming process into a simple act of voting from one’s place of residence.

He also noted that with automatic voter registration, the number of outstation Sarawakian voters is expected to increase further.

“To ignore this reform is to knowingly suppress turnout among a significant segment of the electorate,” he said.

He said the Covid-19 pandemic had revealed the vulnerability of Malaysia’s election system, which relies heavily on physical movement and crowded polling stations.

“When the next health crisis arrives — and it will — we cannot afford to choose between public safety and democratic participation,” he said, adding that postal voting could serve as a safeguard to ensure elections can proceed safely.

Dr Yii said several countries had successfully implemented or expanded postal voting during the pandemic using verification, tracking and transparency mechanisms that maintained public trust.

“There is no reason Malaysia cannot adopt similar safeguards. Delaying reform would leave our electoral process exposed to future emergencies,” he said.

He stressed that Article 119 of the Federal Constitution guarantees every qualified citizen the right to vote, adding that the principle of ‘one citizen, one vote’ loses meaning if voting mechanisms systematically disadvantage those living away from their constituencies.

He reiterated his call for the EC to complete the delineation exercise fairly and constitutionally, while also expediting reforms to enable postal voting for Sarawakians in Peninsular Malaysia ahead of future state and general elections.

“Postal voting is not a radical idea. It is a practical, proven and long-overdue reform that will make our elections more inclusive, resilient and just,” he said.