Request to register soldiers as postal voters received 3 years ago

Election Commission (EC) received a request from the army to register soldiers at the Segamat and Bera camps as postal voters three years ago.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said the application had been processed and the names had been gazetted under the Supplementary Electoral Roll in the third quarter of last year from Oct 24 to Nov 6.

“The request involved registering 1,234 soldiers in Bera and 1,208 soldiers in Segamat as (postal) voters.

“Soldiers registered as postal voters will vote in the area they are stationed at, which is determined by the army,” she said in a wrap-up speech during a session on the motion of thanks for Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V’s royal address.

Azalina was clearing the air over allegations that the soldiers’ registration was done at the ruling party’s behest.

She said the Kuala Lumpur High Court had on Feb 20 rejected a judicial review on two legal suits concerning the registration of the soldiers.

On a related matter, Azalina denied claims by the opposition about 150,000 “missing” voters following the expected sixth electoral boundary delineation exercise to take place this year.

She said information on voters remained safe in EC’s data bank and the system was secure.

“We do not need an additional backup system.

“They (150,000 voters) are not missing.”