THOUSANDS of Malaysians around the world have yet to receive their ballot papers, and are accusing the Election Commission of sabotaging the Overseas Postal Voting system by delaying delivery so that most will be unable to send their votes back home in time to be counted.

With only three days before the 14th general election, many Malaysians registered as overseas postal voters have taken to social media to express their exasperation at the fact that their ballots will arrive too late for them to make the 5pm Wednesday deadline set by the EC.

Instead of backing down, they are fighting back by banding together to work out ways to get their votes home from countries like the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

The initiatives include arranging logistics for voters to hand their ballot papers to volunteers travelling home and pooling funds to buy flight tickets for those willing to hand-deliver the votes to their respective constituencies.

Yap, who has been living abroad for the past 16 years, had initially decided not to return to vote.

But then, she came across a Facebook post calling on Malaysian volunteers to bring home postal votes that would otherwise miss the deadline.

“I was very upset when election day was announced as a Wednesday, and being a mother of two young children, I had initially given up the thought of going back to vote,” said Yap, who requested that her full name be withheld.

“I then found out that many postal voters are facing difficulties in having their votes sent home before the election date.

“I guess it is a good reason for me to cast my vote, as well as bring back some votes,” said the Perth-based journalist.

In Auckland, New Zealand, electoral reform group Bersih 2.0 coordinator Pam said three votes were flown back to Malaysia today, with another 30 expected to be brought back by volunteers on Tuesday.

“It sounds like a small number, but this is because most of us are still waiting for the ballot papers to arrive,” she told Malaysia Decides.

She said one Malaysian in Tokyo told her that he does not know anyone returning to Malaysia before Wednesday, so he plans to wait at the airport with a sign appealing to fellow Malaysians for help in transporting his vote home.

“I think that sums up the current desperation and logistical nightmare that is our Overseas Postal Voting system.”

There are nearly 4,000 Malaysians abroad who are eligible for postal voting, said the EC.

Bersih has received several hundred complaints from voters overseas on the difficulties they face.

Some voters have checked with courier agencies and discovered that they will only receive their ballots on May 10, a day after polling day.

Global Bersih and MyOverseasVote have started an online petition calling on EC chairman Mohd Hashim Abdullah to explain how overseas postal votes can possibly be returned by 5pm on May 9 when the ballot papers were sent out only after nomination day on April 28.

“If Malaysian overseas postal voters are denied their right to vote due to the EC’s sabotage, MyOverseasVote and Global Bersih will assist them in taking legal action against the EC and the Malaysian government,” said the petition, which has garnered more than 32,000 signatures.

Adelene Wee, who has been living in Australia for the past 16 years, discovered that her ballot papers would only have arrived at her home tomorrow if she had depended on the courier agency, which does not do deliveries on weekends.

Unwilling to risk a further delay, she drove to the courier company’s office to personally pick up her ballots yesterday.

She then handed them, marked and sealed, to a friend who is travelling back to Malaysia today.

The architect, who is a registered voter in the Kota Melaka parliamentary seat, is seeking out and assisting fellow Malaysians who need help connecting with people who can bring their ballot papers back in time.

“Every single vote matters, and I want Malaysians back home to know that we got their backs.

“Just because we live overseas doesn’t mean we are any less Malaysian.” – May 6, 2018.