THE Election Commission (EC) will be implementing several measures, including extending voting time by an hour, to allow the public more time to cast their votes at the 15th general election, Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said.

In a written parliamentary reply, the de facto law minister said these measures are to ensure polls proceed smoothly.

“The voting time will be extended by an hour, from 8am to 6pm in the peninsula and 7.30am to 5.30pm in Sabah and Sarawak,” Wan Junaidi said.

“This extension will give voters more time to cast their ballots.”

A special lane for voters aged 60 and above and the disabled will also be set up and will be limited to 450 voters, he said.

The number of voting centres and channels will also be increased, taking into account Undi18 and automatic voter registration, Wan Junaidi said.

The implementation of Undi18 and automatic voter registration saw 5.72 million Malaysian citizens added to the electoral roll.

All Malaysians overseas can also apply for postal voting in the next general election, he said.

Previously, only those who have lived in or returned to Malaysia for 30 days or more in the past five years, could apply for postal voting.

Those living in southern Thailand (Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, Songkhla and Satun), Singapore, Brunei, or Kalimantan, also did not qualify for postal voting and had to come back to vote. – October 4, 2022.