On 19th September, Global Bersih organized “Do Overseas Malaysia Still Matter” webinar event on Zoom. The purposes of the event were to provide a platform for the overseas Malaysian community to connect with the socio-political issues that are currently happening in Malaysia; and to motivate them to continue being engaged in the Malaysian democratic process.
This webinar event featured Mr. Thomas Fann (Chairperson of Bersih 2.0), Professor Wong Chin Huat (political scientist), Mr. Colin Rajah (Former President of Global Bersih) and YB Tuan Ahmad Fahmi Fadzil (Member of Parliament for Lembah Pantai) as speakers. Global Bersih’s Steering Committee Member from Auckland, Ms. Sharmala Rajoo moderated the event.
Key takeaways from the webinar event were:
- There is a need for easier and efficient way for overseas Malaysian voters to vote for future elections. The current overseas voting system is burdensome for the voters. This was evident during the 14th General Election in 2018, where overseas Malaysian voters rushed to send their ballot papers back to Malaysia in time.
- Overseas Malaysian voters must continue pressuring the politicians and the government to expedite reforms of the overseas voting system although they are living for from the country.
- It is important for political and civil education to be instilled among Malaysians in order to have them be more involved in the political process of the country.