Andriadi Perdana Putra, Sarawak – Around 61,000 voters, consisting mostly of Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) in various overseas polling stations (TPSLN), took part in Indonesia's 2024 elections in Sarawak, Malaysia.

In the Miri district, hundreds of migrant workers eagerly lined up to vote on Thursday. Raden Sigit Witjaksono, the Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia in Kuching, expressed satisfaction with the election proceedings, highlighting the smooth participation of migrant workers in the plantation sector.

"The implementation has gone smoothly, and the Indonesian citizens participating in the voting process are quite enthusiastic. Hopefully, it continues to proceed peacefully and successfully," said Sigit.

He said the 2024 election in the overseas polling stations utilized two voting methods: voting directly in the polling stations and voting through a mobile ballot box. Apart from Miri, polling stations were also set up in other districts in Sarawak, including Batu Niah, Sibu, Mukah, Lawas, Limbang, Sri Aman, Betong, and Kuching.

As of now, 153 gathering points across the entire state of Sarawak will be visited by officials carrying the mobile ballot boxes. Voting took place from Feb. 4 to Feb. 10, 2024. Subsequently, the votes will be collectively counted on Feb. 14.

Sigit detailed that out of the 153 mobile ballot boxes, they served 61,912 voters in nine locations. In Kuching, there are 8,788 voters, while Sri Aman has 1,235 voters, Betong has 1,588 voters, Sibu has 8,255 voters, Mukah 11,405 voters, Bintulu 14,352 voters, Batu Niah 9,252 voters, Miri 8,811 voters, and Lawas Limbang 1,214 voters.

To ensure the success of the 2024 elections in Sarawak, Malaysia, the overseas polling organizer group in Sarawak involved 459 officials, along with 153 order maintenance personnel. Additionally, there are 35 officials and 10 order maintenance personnel contributing to the process.

Nearly 560,000 Indonesian voters in Malaysia, the largest group among the 2.06 million overseas voters, have received 156,000 absentee ballots from the embassy. These ballots allow them to vote ahead of the official election date. However, around 80,000 ballots have been returned, marked as "return to sender," while thousands have been successfully delivered and returned to local post offices by the recipients.

However, the embassy is currently dealing with a challenge, as approximately 68,000 absentee ballots remain unaccounted for. To address this issue, the embassy has enlisted the help of local law enforcement. Despite being dispatched since January 11, these ballots have yet to be returned.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/61000-migrant-workers-in-sarawak-cast-their-votes-in-the-2024-electio