KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian volunteers from all walks of life in New Zealand (NZ) namely working professionals, acting in the spirit of democracy, have joined global efforts in assisting fellow citizens to deliver postal votes back to Malaysia.
Malaysian volunteers in NZ under the auspices of NZ Malaysia Business Association (NZMBA) and its secretariat, Stace Hammond Lawyers, Bersih NZ, combined with the expertise and assistance of Global Bersih and Global Malaysian Network (GMN), are extending helping hand to fellow Malaysian voters to get their ballots counted in time.
"It is a monumental task, but having said that the Malaysian spirit is always there, can do attitude.
' We do not campaign, we do not take sides, we only help people to exercise their voting rights and help deliver the ballots to their respective returning officers, all free of charge," said NZMBA president, Dave Ananth and its Secretary Pam Wong-Louis in a joint statement made available to Bernama.
Both of them said these volunteering entities and individuals have combined forces to help Malaysian voters in NZ understand the overseas postal voting process and guide them in a logistics plan that spanned the North and South Islands of the island nation, to fly their ballots home to Malaysia.
"Every vote matters, and we want everybody's ballot to make it home on time," the statement said, adding the volunteering entities are also linking with UNDI 18 ballot delivery network in Malaysia.
Malaysia will go to the polls on Saturday, Nov 19 following Parliament dissolution on Oct 10.
According to NZMBA, the Malaysian volunteers based in NZ decided to step in as many Malaysians were confused on how to get their votes home within a short time frame.
"There are many students, holiday workers, tourist and Malaysians visiting family from Auckland to Queenstown besides those who are permanent residents here.
"Many are young voters for the first time who are anxious to make sure they get their votes counted. The tight deadline is a real worry," it added.
Wong-Louis, who is the city coordinator for Bersih NZ under the larger Global Bersih umbrella, said statistics garnered from a NZ-wide poll carried out by the NZ team showed ballots started arriving in NZ from Nov 14.
"Due to strict cut-off times that have to be adhered to in order to send off as many ballots collected NZ-wide to Malaysia by Nov 17 2022, arriving the next day, many ballots may well be left behind. Nevertheless, every ballot counts and each Malaysian voter here who has sent their ballot home is proud to fulfil their civic duty as a Malaysian citizen.
"It is this ownership of the right to vote, that is the spirit of democracy that Malaysians carry with them across the globe," she added.
According to UNDI18, all the ballot envelopes will be taken to the sorting centre in Kuala Lumpur for the sorting process of the 222 Parliament and 117 State Legislative Assembly (DUN) and sent to the states including Sabah and Sarawak. – BERNAMA