KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 – The Election Commision (EC) has decided that absentee voters (PTH) must take the Priority Envelope containing their voting papers at Malaysian Representative Offices (MROs) abroad. EC secretary, Datuk Kamaruddin Mohamed Baria(pic) said PTH were members of the armed forces serving abroad and their spouses, public servants working at Malaysian missions abroad and their spouses, and full time students abroad and spouses.
He said PTH should surf www.spr.gov.my to pick the Malaysian Representative Offices abroad as to where they want the Priority Envelopeto be sent. “The PTH must update their information such as the Malaysian Representative
Office picked, home address, e-mail and telephone number until the dissolution date,” he said in a statement here, today. He said EC would send a priority message directly to the Malaysian Representative Office abroad if the PTH did not fill up the information or the information was filled after the dissolution of parliament.
Kamaruddin said for countries which only had one Malaysian Representative Office, the Priority Envelope would be sent to the Malaysian Representative Office in the country in question.
“For countries which have more than one Malaysian Representative Office, the Priority Envelope would be sent to the nearest mission based on the address of the PTH available with EC,” he said. He added for a Priority Envelope with incomplete address in countries with more than one Malaysian Representative Office, the envelope would be sent to the
mission located in the capital.
Meanwhile, for countries which did not have a Malaysian Representative Office, the Priority Envelope would be sent to a Malaysian Representative Office closest to the country. Kamaruddin said after Nomination Day, PTH would be informed via e-mail and the EC website on the date and time of submitting the Priority Envelope containing the postal ballot at Malaysian Representative Offices abroad.
They must go to the relevant Malaysian Representative Office to personally retrieve the Priority Envelope. Representatives are not allowed,” he said. According to Kamaruddin, when PTH receive the Priority Envelope and make a marking on the ballot on the day of submission, they could also submit the B envelope containing the voting paper in the EC’s special sack to be delivered to the office of the Returning Officer in the related election division.
But, he said, if PTH retrieved the Priority Envelope after the submission date, or returned the B envelope after the stipulated date and time, the PTH would be required to handle himself the business of sending back the B envelope containing the voting paper to the Office of the Returning Officer in the related election division.
“The cost of sending the B envelope has to be borne by the PTH himself,” he added.
BERNAMA
