EC waiting for AG’s nod over postal voting for overseas Malaysians

(The Star) – The Election Commission is waiting for the green light from the Attorney-General’s Chambers to proceed with plans for overseas Malaysians to become postal voters in the coming general election.

Its chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said the AG is now studying the proposal to determine whether it will require amendments to the Federal Constitution or laws governing national polls, or just some “tweaking” of existing regulations.

“The EC is waiting for the AG for final advice on how to proceed. I cannot say (when a decision will be made), but it will be very soon,” he told a press conference.

Currently, only full-time Malaysian students and their spouses and civil servants and their spouses are eligible as postal voters.

This has led to complaints by those who are not within the category, such as private sector employees working overseas. A Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reforms in its report in April, among others, recommended that postal voting be expanded to all Malaysians overseas.