M'sia sees high turnout in overseas voting
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Malaysians living overseas got into an early polling mood, with a high turnout in some of the 103 missions worldwide, where drinks and snacks were provided for those waiting to cast their votes.
Election Commission secretary Kamaruddin Mohamed Baria said about 50 to 60 per cent of registered Malaysian voters had cast their votes in various countries such as Australia, New Zealand, China and Japan by noon yesterday.
There are 6,339 overseas postal voters, marking this the first time that Malaysian nationals got to cast their ballots abroad. Registered voters in Britain, the United States and other countries are expected to cast their votes by early today, given the time difference.
In Beijing, 564 Malaysians in China are registered with the election commission and an estimated 74.9 per cent turned up to cast their votes at the Malaysian embassy there and consulate offices in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Kunming and Hong Kong.
“The postal voting process is easy and convenient. I don’t think a lot of people would have the time to travel back to Malaysia just for that,” Quah Kean Eng said after casting his vote at the Malaysian embassy.
Malaysian Ambassador to China Iskandar Sarudin said the number of voters who turned up in Beijing was 121, Hong Kong 220, Shanghai 171, Guangzhou 35, and Kunming 17.
In Singapore, chemical-engineering student Song Wai Kit, 22, took a day off from studying for his exams in order to cast his vote.
“The people at the embassy were really nice. They gave us very clear instructions on how to vote,” he said.
In Melbourne, it was a festive atmosphere at the Malaysian consulate with stalls serving Malaysian delicacies like nasi kerabu, ondeh-ondeh and curry puffs to around 1,700 people who waited to cast their ballots.
In Bangkok, Diyana Yahaya was up early to cast her vote at the Malaysian embassy on Sathorn Road.
“Happy to meet and talk to other Malaysians living in Thailand. Voting was followed by Malaysian food for lunch!” she tweeted.
