From a lonely voter

Image: 123rf.com

THOUSANDS of homesick Malay-sians have already cast their votes through the post, will you be joining them?

People are predicting a general election for the books and no matter what the outcome is, the real shame would be if you don’t vote. The tiresome process that I needed to undergo to exercise my democratic right via the postal ballot left me questioning whether it was worth it – the answer is always yes.

A large portion of overseas voters are students who happen to be first-timers in the whole voting conundrum, and I was one of them. Growing up, my parents instilled in their children the idea that it is important and necessary for us to vote when the time comes. That the responsibility of ensuring we live in a democratic and civilised society does not only fall only on politicians but also on us rakyat too.

Malaysia has been in political turmoil for, arguably, almost two decades, leaving citizens feeling hopeless. Despite the frustrations that we all feel (no matter which side you are on), the main way for us to keep whatever parts of democracy we have left is to show up and vote.

Thankfully for Malaysians in the UK, we were blessed with the kind people of VoteMalaysia who helped us send our votes back. VoteMalay-sia is a nonpartisan coalition of 14 Malaysian youth organisations that strive to keep voting accessible and achievable. If it weren’t for this option, I was looking at paying a minimum of £30 (that is more than RM160!) to post my ballot – and that is only if my ballot arrived on time.

VoteMalaysia set up camps all over Britain; one of them is at the Malaysian Hall in Queensborough Terrace, London. A 20-minute walk and three train changes later, there I was looking up at our Jalur Gemilang drenched in rain at No.34, Queensborough Terrace. Being there with dozens of other Malay-sians eager to bid farewell to a piece of paper, a symbol of our democracy, was an uplifting experience.

If someone had told me four years ago that I would cast my first vote through the post while living in a small flat in London I wouldn’t have believed them.

The rigorous process of applying for postal voting privileges and scrutinising every personal detail on the form scared me. I thought I might make a mistake and that doing so would lose me my right to vote in this election (which happened to my housemate!). The tedious process boiled down to a moment in my living room with my ballot on the ironing board – and I just voted.

Well, OK, not really. You see, the one good thing about voting via post is that you have time to really think about which name you will mark with an “X”. It took me two days to decide, and really, this was the only upside to postal voting for me. As I looked down at my checked ballot and unfortunately stainless finger, I knew I was doing the right thing by voting.

Despite the postal ballot not being my preferred way to vote, it taught me a lot about being a Malaysian. As I was changing my third train that night to send off my ballot, a sense of homesickness washed over me. I wanted to experience queuing up with my family and friends back home and leaving with an ink-stained finger, possibly even bragging about said finger all over Insta-gram.

But that was not on the cards for me. Instead, I was voting alone in a foreign country and wishing the best for Malaysia.

SARAH TAUFEK

London