By Nancy Nais
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 15: Sarawakian students studying in other parts of Malaysia should be included as postal voters.
Urging the Election Commission (EC) to consider this suggestion, first year law student Rhiannon Ivy Bajik Robert said many students who are 18-years-old and older at higher learning institution in Peninsular Malaysia are unable to return to Sarawak to cast their votes due to financial constraints.
“I hope there will be an opportunity for people like me to vote through the post for this coming 15th General Election (GE15).
“Currently we students are unable to vote because we are studying outside our home state. Preventing us from voting also means taking away our constitutional rights that gives us the right to vote.
“For us to fly back to Sarawak, it is very costly to fork out the money to buy air tickets to return home, especially when it is a last minute purchase. If we are lucky, the lowest fare can reach up to RM200 or more for one way, and it depends on the flight time and extra services,” Rhiannon told DayakDaily at the Lan Berambeh Anak Sarawak 2022 event held at the Malaysia International Trade & Exhibition Centre (MITEC) today.
She said it would be a financial burden on her parents if she asked for extra money to buy air tickets.
She added that it would be a heavy burden for her to spend RM500 on flight tickets alone so she can go home to Kuching to vote, as she would have to budget for her food and accommodation in Kuala Lumpur.
The law student from Brickfields Asia College in Petaling Jaya said she has been supporting the Undi18 movement, which has lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.
“This is a bittersweet scenario for me. One hand, I am very excited to vote for the first time in my life. On the other hand, it looks like I am unable to vote because of the struggle I face as a student studying outside my home state. I cannot afford to fly back to Kuching to vote,” Rhiannon said.
She added that she was aware of the ‘Graduan Pulang Sarawak’ (iGPS) subsidy scheme initiative which was set up to help students facing such a conundrum.
Grateful to the Sarawak government for introducing iGPS, she concurred it has helped in easing a student’s financial burden when they want to go back home to vote.
However, Rhiannon stood by her opinion that the EC should allow students to vote through the post because she felt her State government could instead use the money to help its people in other matters.
Meanwhile, speaking about the Lan Berambeh Anak Sarawak programme, Rhiannon said this is the best event for Sarawakians residing in Peninsular Malaysia to gather as a ‘big family’ and connect with one another.
“I can see that Lan Berambeh is the best platform where I can meet Sarawakian leaders from back home and actually have real interactions. Sessions such as the dialogue with ministers is the best, so we can understand policies introduced and why the government introduced such measures,” she explained. — DayakDaily
