KUALA LUMPUR: Chun Hong Tang, a 31-year-old orthopaedic surgeon in training in UK has organised for his relatives who were flying back on Monday night to bring about 25 ballot papers home by hand, and with it the hopes of those who believe their votes will make a difference in Malaysia's 14th general election that will take place on May 9.

“I am organising the collection and passing of the ballot papers to my relatives, who are taking it back with them. I’m from KL, so I am mostly able to serve the Klang Valley area, due to logistical issues. I’ve also been given some outstation ballots so I will try my level best to pass to others once in town. It’s like a relay race!” said Chun in a text message to theedgemarkets.com.

The initiative, he said, is very dependent on the huge effort by both the Malaysian and Global chapter of Bersih, to organise further transport of the ballot papers from Kuala Lumpur to other parts of Malaysia.

“At this late hour, many hopes are resting on this last-minute plan so hopefully I can deliver all the ballot papers on time before 5pm on Wednesday the 9th of May. I have about 25 ballot papers in my trust which I will ensure gets delivered to the appropriate returning officers,” he added.

He hopes there won’t be further hurdles once the tickets reach home, though the outstation ballots will be tricky to deliver.

“But there are equally dedicated people back home who have delayed their trip back to their hometowns to help deliver these ballots too. Therefore, I am only a small part of a much a larger chain of Malaysians willing to give up their time and effort to ensure every Malaysian gets the chance to exercise their right to vote,” he added.

Besides Chun, Nik Azmi Fathil, who is also in the UK, has helped link up some 50 Malaysian voters via the Facebook page, ‘Malaysia Memilih 2018 — Undi UK & Ireland’, to pass their ballots to six Malaysians who are flying home.

When contacted, Azmi shared that he has had help from generous people who have been running around London and other cities to collect ballot papers.

"As we speak now, I have just handed over the last shipment to Johor, because one of these volunteers is flying there. The only thing I can say is that the people I liaise with are flying to Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor. Some fly for business and some for leisure. We also have two special deliveries to Sarawak, which needed coordination with even more volunteers on the ground because nobody is flying there this (last) weekend," he said.

Azmi said he knew he had to do something and started to reach out when he saw that it costs between £38 and £80 to send an envelope by express delivery service to Malaysia, which is way too expensive for many Malaysians who are students there. The inspiration, he said, came from the Global Bersih movement, as well as the UndiRabu.com people.

"All these wonderful people, who are similarly inspired to do the same, do not want other Malaysians to be deprived of their constitutional right to have a say in the formation of the next Federal Government of Malaysia, as well as the 12 State governments," he added.

In Perth, Australia, 38-year-old engineer Leong Kong Mun, who got his ballot paper on Monday afternoon Malaysian time, is also relying on a volunteer runner from the Bersih Perth group, to help get his vote back in time.

Leong was frustrated when first contacted on Sunday as his ballot paper had yet to arrive, though he sent his and his wife’s application in the same email in April to the EC, and their registration was approved on May 1. His wife got her ballot paper from DHL on Friday.

“The EC should rethink this postal voting system and perhaps revert back to the last election’s method, where people could go to the Malaysian High Commissioner or Consular to vote. We still had to register, but we can choose which Consular/location we want our ballot papers be sent to, and just vote there. At least that way, it takes away the uncertainty of where the ballot papers get sent to,” Leong added.

His ballot paper, when he tracked it using his DHL tracking number, was only picked up to be shipped from Kuala Lumpur on May 4 (see pic above).

Chun said many Malaysians overseas have been denied their right to vote this time because of the short 11-day campaigning period, which means their ballot papers could not be sent back home in time.

“We wish this had been different. We hope the EC will consider us in the future. We are not insignificant, because ‘kita semua anak Malaysia’ (We are all Malaysia’s children),” he added.