I Took The Morning Off To Register To Vote, And Here's How It Went

If you’re all caught up with the gif- and meme-worthy U.S. Presidential Elections you might want to shift your focus to our very own Motherland instead.

Image Source: remotesensing.gov.my

Having read viral posts on the Internet yesterday that 30 September 2025 (Friday) is the closing date for voter registration for Malaysia’s 14th General Elections in 2017, I had frantically looked for a post office to register. After all, post offices are the most accessible and least intimidating place to do so, if not the easiest.

But no such luck! The nearest post office was 3 km away and there’s no way I could drop by and register and make it back before the end of my lunch time, considering how crowded post offices get.

Post offices are open from Monday to Saturday and operate during regular business hours. In this case, the post office was open at 10 after the start of my workday and closes at 6 before I could go home. Saturday is already past the deadline, so today (Friday) was my last chance.

So I took the morning off. Yes, just to register to vote. Why not? There was a post office much closer to home and it won’t take the whole of my day to do it, barring excessively long lines and the notorious 'system down'. Incidentally, that had happened yesterday in the very post office I was going to go to, and a 200-long line of frustrated customers went home unregistered.

To be prepared for the worst, I showed up 30 minutes before the office opened this morning. There were many office workers there too, impatiently answering calls and fiddling with their lanyards. Some were chatting among themselves and were there to register as voters as well.

Image Source: markinmalaysia.blogspot.com

Not the post office I went to but you get the picture

Quite surprisingly, we managed to make an orderly line when the post office opened, and we took our numbers. By then I was already 20th in line (and if you arrived 15 minutes later, you’d be in the 100s) among other customers wanting to pay bills, settle traffic tickets, send letters, and, of course, register to vote.

When my turn arrived, all I needed to do was present my MyKad and wait for the officer to check some details. Because everything was computerised, I didn’t even need to manually fill in anything! I was then given a copy of the form to confirm and verify that my details were accurate, sign it, and take home my own yellow copy as proof I’ve registered. Excluding the wait, it only took less than 5 minutes, and I didn’t even need to bring a pen!

But by the time I was done it’s already taken half my morning. Imagine how long it’ll take when you’re 100th in line! Or if the system crashes. Again.

What’s an office worker - or even university student - to do if they’re now stuck at work or in classes and there are no post offices nearby?

You shrug and mourn a lost opportunity to exercise your rights.

But wait!

Good News, Everyone!

Image Source: faisolmustafa.wordpress.com

The Elections Commission (Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya; SPR) have since denied that there is a closing date for voter registration, and maintains a year-round voter’s registration for eligible Malaysians. The only thing that ended was the 2016 Q3 registration list, and the Q4 registrations open on October 1. So you can still register to vote from this Saturday onwards.

Malaysian citizens wishing to register as a voter must:

1. Be at least 21 years old;

2. Reside in the constituency they wish to be registered in; and

3. Not be disqualified or barred by any laws in force.

Currently, you can only register as a voter through the SPR. As of April 2016, there are reportedly 17.6 million eligible voters within Malaysia, but only 13.4 million are registered to exercise their rights. That’s not too bad, but politicians and the politically-aware Malaysians do not like the chances. 4.2 million eligible voters are still unrepresented and under-served.

Low voter turnout often results in an inaccurate reflection of the People’s Will, so many political parties and organisations have been trying to get qualified Malaysians to register through outreach programmes. Some groups are even getting youths to register through competitions and cash prize incentives!

Many have also urged eligible voters to register 'early', as it could take up to 3 to 6 months for your name to appear on the electoral roll. So if elections are called next March, you'll have a better chance of being in the systems and being able to vote!

The Registration Process

To register, you need to show up with your MyKad to either one of these places:

1. The SPR main office at:

Level G, Menara SPR

No. 2, Jalan P2T, Presint 2

62100 Putrajaya

Tel: 03-88927000

2. Post Offices

3. SPR District Offices

4. Your nearest SPR office

5. SPR counters through outreach programmes

6. Registration volunteers elected from government agencies, political parties, and NGOs

7. Malaysian Embassies, Consulate General, and High Commissions, if you are abroad.

There, you’ll be given a form - Form A - to fill with your personal details and signature. Hand it in and you’re done! But don’t forget to check if you’ve been registered as a voter through the EC website.

Now What?

The process for me was very straightforward and simple, because I had the opportunity to go to the post office early, and because I could take the morning off. The fact that a post office is only 5 minutes away from where I live also helped immensely.

Other citizens were not so lucky. Long lines, inaccessible registration centres, and 'system crashes' have forced many to remain angry and unregistered. Politicians have hit back at the SPR, calling for the Commission to improve its processes and make it easier for Malaysians to exercise their rights.

Image Source: Facebook

Subang Jaya MP Hannah Yeoh shares citizen's registration frustrations

Eligible voters abroad - university students and workers among them - are also facing challenges, dealing with outdated information, unhelpful personnel, and even with embassies running out of Form A.

Well, hours after I’ve handed in Form A and skipped to work proudly with my yellow copy, I’m still not in the systems. Maybe I'll check back in a month. Or two. Or 3. Or 6.

Either way, I've done what I can for now, and if anything goes wrong, would (hopefully) have the upcoming months to do something about it. And you probably should too. Voting for whom you want to run the nation is part of your rights and responsibility as a citizen, so why not exercise it and have a say in our future?

Information Source: Freemalaysiatoday, The Malay Mail Online, (2), Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya Malaysia

Image Source: faisolmustafa.wordpress.com, www.facebook.com/hannahyeoh, markinmalaysia.blogspot.com, remotesensing.gov.my