By Angie S Chin, Lead – Vote Wisely Project / SVP of CAMOS (Change Advocate Movement Sabah)
KOTA KINABALU: The Election Commission’s (EC) recent proposal to automatically update a voter’s polling address based on the address printed on their MyKad may appear like a harmless administrative improvement.
But for Sabahans and Sarawakians living temporarily in Semenanjung, this proposal carries severe political consequences — consequences that risk silencing East Malaysian voices in their own homeland.
Let’s be clear: Changing the address on your IC for banking, bills, rental contracts, or employment does not mean you want to abandon your right to vote for your local representatives back home.
Yet this is exactly what the EC’s proposal threatens to do.
A Decision That Disenfranchises Sabahans
Hundreds of thousands of Sabahans live in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor and other Peninsular states for work, education, and opportunities not available back home.
These are not permanent migrants. These are temporary residents.
Their families, identity, culture, and political concerns remain rooted in Sabah.
If the EC automatically updates their voting address based on their KL or Selangor MyKad, these Sabahans will be forced — without choice — to vote in constituencies where:
There are no Sabah-based parties contesting,
Local issues affecting Sabah are irrelevant,
Political representation does not reflect their community or origin.
This is not merely a bureaucratic inconvenience. It is a direct erosion of democratic representation.
Sabah Parties Exist Only in Sabah – But Peninsular Parties Contest in Sabah
There are no Sabah or Sarawak local parties operating in Peninsular Malaysia.
But multiple Peninsular-based parties operate in Sabah.
This means the EC’s proposal only hurts one side: Sabahans.
It dilutes the influence of Sabah local parties by shifting Sabah-born voters into Peninsular constituencies where those parties do not exist.
In other words:
East Malaysians lose political representation; West Malaysians do not.
How is that fair?
The Burden Is Not the Same: Cars vs. Planes
The EC often argues that if people register themselves elsewhere, they should vote there. But this assumes all Malaysians face the same cost and barriers — which is simply untrue.
A Peninsular voter from Penang working in Kuala Lumpur can easily take a bus or drive home to vote.
A Sabahan working in Kuala Lumpur must:
Buy a plane ticket
Cross the South China Sea
Take leave from work
Spend hundreds or thousands of ringgits
All for one day of voting
Many simply cannot afford this — especially students and low-wage workers.
So what is their alternative? The EC offers none – as always.
There is no postal voting for Sabahans who work or study in Semenanjung, despite years of appeals by civil society.
Instead, now the EC proposes to automatically shift their voting address to KL or Selangor — effectively stripping them of their right to participate in the democratic future of Sabah.
Automatic Updating Removes Voter Agency
Voting is not just about where you sleep at night.
It is about political belonging, identity, community, and origin.
Millions of Malaysians do not vote where they currently work.
But Sabahans and Sarawakians are uniquely punished for this because the only way home is by air.
The EC’s proposal removes voter choice entirely. It assumes an IC address equals political alignment — a dangerous and flawed assumption.
Democracy requires voter agency, not bureaucratic force.
The Real Solution: Postal Voting for Out-of-State Sabahans
If the EC is sincere about strengthening the electoral system, the solution is simple and fair:
Grant postal voting to Sabahans and Sarawakians living in Semenanjung and vice versa.
This system already exists for:
Malaysians overseas
Security personnel
Government workers
Students abroad
So why are ordinary East Malaysian citizens excluded?
Why are Sabahans forced into plane travel when a postal ballot solves everything?
A Call for the EC to Reconsider
This proposal may be presented as administrative efficiency, but its effect is unmistakable:
It dilutes Sabah’s political voice.
It impairs East Malaysian representation.
It forces Sabahans into constituencies that do not reflect their identity or interests.
It punishes them for seeking opportunity outside their home state.
Sabahans deserve the same democratic respect as all Malaysians.
The EC must scrap the plan to automatically update voting addresses based on MyKad — and instead expand postal voting to ensure every Sabahan has an equal, accessible, and meaningful vote.
