Indonesians in Sarawak urged to exercise their right to vote

Ade (left) shows a poster depicting the number of political parties in Indonesia running in the election in April this year.

By Wilfred Pilo

KUCHING, Feb 11: Indonesian General Election Committee (Kuching) chairman Ade Dewanto today advised the some 140,000 eligible Indonesian voters in Sarawak to cast their votes in their countryā€™s general election, which will be held this coming April 17.

The casting of votes in Sarawak will be between April 8 and 14.

Roughly 190 million Indonesians are eligible to elect their president, vice-president and peopleā€™s representatives for the Central Parliament simultaneously.

In calling upon Indonesians in Sarawak to cast their votes, Ade said: ā€œIt is a platform for the Indonesian people to exercise their rights in determining the countryā€™s future government.

ā€œFor those in Kuching, they can cast their votes at the Consulate General Office at Jalan Stutong from 8am-5pm on April 14.ā€

Ade told a press conference at the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia here today that Kuching Zone, which includes Bau, Lundu, Samarahan and Simunjan, had the most number of voters ā€” 15,000.

For those places located far away from the consulate, they would be using 479 mobile ballot boxes, each with 300 to 400 ballot papers.

ā€œThis will be facilitated and escorted by the sub-committee of the General Election Committee to the working premises and estates where the eligible voters reside or stay. The casting of votes for these voters will be on April 8-9.ā€

He revealed that they would also be using the services of Pos Malaysia to deliver ballot papers through mail/post.

Ade explained that the ballot counting process would only be done at the ballot counting centres on April 17.

ā€œAs responsible Indonesians, we should not want to miss out on this opportunity to be involved in the process of establishing the future Indonesian government (for the 2019-2024 period) by exercising our constitutional right.ā€

In the coming general election, which is also called ā€˜Pemilu Serentak 2019ā€™, president Joko Widodo of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) will be challenged by Prabowo Subianto of The Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra). ā€” DayakDaily