Jack Yu wants to vote in Saturday’s crucial election in his home state of Johor, Malaysia, but being based in Hong Kong has left him frozen out after he missed the short window to register for a postal vote.
Hong Kong is home to an estimated 15,000 Malaysians working across finance to hospitality, according to the Southeast Asian nation’s consulate general. Many remain closely engaged with politics back home – more so when the result could reshape the balance of power in Putrajaya.
Yu, 36, missed the Johor registration, despite having voted by post before and helping other Malaysians in Hong Kong return ballots during the 2022 general election.
The singer and bartender, who has lived in Hong Kong since 2009, said the problem was a lack of official communication, meaning overseas voters like himself were left to track and keep abreast of election timelines pretty much by themselves.
“Throughout my years in Hong Kong, I have never received any updates from the Election Commission or the consulate about elections at all,” he said, adding that his information often came through Malaysian community networks.
If voters were informed early enough, the official 10-day registration period could still be workable in Hong Kong, where courier services were efficient, he said.