LETTER | The time we have waited for a long period has arrived. It is GE15. With the insertion of millions of new voters in the electoral roll, it is important for all Malaysians to know basic facts about polling correctly. 

Unfortunately, during elections, there are waves of misinformation about the voting process. Let’s learn about key facts a Malaysian voter ought to know about the polling process.

Polling time

There remain misconceptions and misinformation about the polling period. Firstly, do not assume all polling centres will close by 6pm. 

According to the  Conduct of Elections, the Elections Commission (EC) has the power to appoint the hours required for polling and such notice of polling hours is issued via a gazette and EC’s MySPR Semak application. 

During the Johor state election, one of the candidates in Bekok was surprised when a selected number of polling centres closed around 2pm and 4pm. There were viral video clips of voters not being able to enter polling centres that closed around 2pm.

The truth is the candidates of Bekok should have checked their electoral roll, as such information on polling hours is available before the nomination date. Please check the MySPR Semak application and find the opening and closing times for your polling centre. Do not be fodder for political propaganda.

The latest misinformation was about suggested voting time for voters to cast their votes in polling centres. Some claim that if you do not go to the polling centre based on the suggested time for you, you may be denied voting. 

The concept of suggested time was first introduced during elections held during the Covid-19 pandemic and the intention was to reduce congestion on polling day. The term ‘suggested’ implies that this is advisory time for voters to cast their vote. 

So long as you are in the polling centre within the polling time designated by the EC, you will get the chance to vote. With Covid-19 cases going up and the heat of GE15 getting hotter, one should follow suggested time to vote for the betterment of all.

Dress code

During the Slim by-election held in August 2020, a few voters were turned away from a polling centre because they were wearing shorts. Is there a dress code? According to Election Offences Act Section 26 (1) (g), a voter is not allowed to wear (any form of) clothes that bear the name of the candidate, name or symbols of political parties within the 50-metre zone of the polling station. 

This is the only known restriction for the type of clothing. Voters are advised to wear neutral and reasonable clothing on the day. If you are turned away from voting and, in your clothing, you did not violate the said section of the Election Offences Act, please report to the relevant authorities.

Handphones

A polling stream is designed in a way to ensure neutrality and secrecy of the polling process. Unfortunately, over the years, voters have been taking pictures of who they voted for and hoping to receive gifts in return. 

This is a double violation under the Election Offences Act (Sections 5 and 10) – violating secrecy and bribery. Hence, the EC took a decisive step recently to update the polling process. 

After receiving the ballots, the voter is asked to place his/her phone in a designated spot at the Presiding Officer’s (‘Ketua Tempat Mengundi’) table. Subsequently, he or she marks the ballot in the indicated area (‘Petak Undi’) secretly. 

The voter then puts his or her ballot back in the ballot box and collects the phone on his or her way out. Polling Clerk Number 4 will assist the Presiding Officer in ensuring the safety of the voter’s handphone. Voters are reminded to respect the secrecy of the polling process.

Assisted voting (a trusted person)

If a voter is incapacitated by blindness and other physical causes, this voter can be assisted by a trusted person. The trusted person must be a Malaysian citizen of 18 years or above. 

The trusted person would be required to fill up Form 10 and mark the ballot on the instructions of the said incapacitated voter. The trusted person is to drop the ballot in the ballot box. 

As the Conduct of Elections does not have tight requirements for the “trusted person”, unfortunately, this created a legal loophole for one person to be a trusted person multiple times. 

If the trusted person has a party membership, the potential to influence will be there. It is advisable that if you have a family member who has been incapacitated and not able to mark the ballot himself/herself, please be the trusted person.

Attitudes/Manners during polling

To ensure the polling process runs smoothly, there is the polling process a voter goes through:

1. A voter enters the polling stream when the police allow the voter to do so;

2. Hand in the identity card/or other identity documents to the first polling clerk. Show both hands to this clerk;

3. The identity card is passed from the first polling clerk to the second polling clerk. The first polling clerk reads aloud the page number, sequence number, IC number and the name of the voter. While the second polling clerk validates the information that is being read aloud by the first polling clerk, the voter should ensure the name and IC number are correct;

4. The voter then moves to the second polling clerk, who asks the voter to have his or her left index finger dipped in the ink bottle;

5. The voter moves to the third polling clerk and receives the folded ballot paper(s);

6. The voter next moves to the presiding officer’s table and leaves his or her handphone in the designated spot on the table;

7. The voter heads to ‘Petak Undi’ and marks the ballot(s), secretly. Follow all instructions placed in the ‘Petak Undi’. Mark ‘X’ for one candidate only. Do not use the ink of your finger to mark the ballot;

8. The voter casts the ballot(s) (Parliament and State Legislative Assembly) in the correct ballot box;

9. Voter heads to the Presiding Officer’s table to collect the handphone;

10.  And then the voter leaves the polling stream immediately.

After understanding the process above, a voter must adhere to all lawful instructions. If a voter is wearing a mask, please remove the mask temporarily when asked by the first polling clerk. 

Please show both hands when instructed by this clerk. Voters should not spend too much time in the ‘Petak Undi’ as such actions may arouse suspicions from the polling staff and polling agents. The voter should not take his or her ballot outside the polling stream.

Voting is a right and responsibility for all Malaysian citizens. It is important one should know the truth about the polling process and adhere to the latest rules. 

As the election day gets closer, it is the responsibility of each voter to understand the polling process in depth and one can refer to EC’s latest infographic. An educated voter is an empowered voter. Empowered voters can propel our country forward.

DANESH PRAKASH CHACKO is a Research Analyst working on applying mapping technologies to various Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) projects in Sunway University. He is also the director of the electoral reform group Tindak Malaysia.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.