THE Election Commission must provide more avenues for overseas Johor people  to exercise their voting rights in the state elections, said Petaling Jaya Utara MP Maria Chin Abdullah.

Maria, a former Bersih 2.0 chairman, said that under the current circumstances, the EC has to be practical, reasonable and accommodating to the eligible voters.

“It is highly recommended for the EC to encourage postal voting as an alternative for voters to exercise their right and civic duty, by setting up at least five vote collection centres outside of Malaysia for overseas voters to cast their votes,” she said in a statement today.

“Overseas Johorians can cast their votes in a ballot box in advance and returned via diplomatic bags to their respective polling stations in Johor.

“There will be thousands of Johorians who will benefit from this as they will still be able to exercise their civic voting duty while being across the Causeway,” she added, referring to Malaysians who live and work in Singapore.

She said more alternatives to vote overseas would also solve the fear of Covid-19 infection from exposure during physical polling.

Johor will go to the polls on March 12.

EC chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh said that candidate nomination is slated for February 26, while early voting will be held on March 8.

Maria proposed that the EC, with the consent of the National Security Council, allow small gatherings of up to 30 people at a time, for candidates to meet voters.

“Every voter has the right to be informed of the background of contestants, their track record and manifesto, to make his or her vote a meaningful one.

“All candidates organising such meetings must abide strictly by all the SOP imposed by MOH. There should be equal media access and coverage throughout the campaign period and there must not be any restriction or selective preference,” she said, referring to the health rules of the Health Ministry. – February 11, 2022.