Voting FAQ

Check your voting details here. Your voting station is listed under "daerah mengundi".

If you are unsure where that is, enquire with your local Election Commission office, police station or local authorities.

No. There are only three ways for you to vote for a member of Parliament or state assemblyperson.

Firstly, you will have to vote in person on the designated polling day.

Secondly, if you are a civil servant or uniformed personnel working on polling day, you might qualify for early voting - voting a few days before the actual polling day. This is also done in person.

Thirdly, if you are an Election Commission staff and a member of the press working on polling day; or if you are military or police personnel who cannot be an early voter, you can apply to be a postal voter.

Lastly, if you are residing abroad, you can apply to be a postal voter.

However, do mind the deadlines to apply for postal voting.

After Dec 15, 2021 all Malaysians above the age of 18 are automatically added to the voter list.

If you just turned 18, you might have missed the cut-off date. If that is not the case, you should file a complaint with the Election Commission and the police.

The Federal Constitution states that a voter must be a resident within a constituency to qualify as a voter. In practice, most voters belong to a constituency as determined by the address on their identity cards.

Voters within a constituency are divided into "daerah mengundi" (voting districts).

Usually, there is only one voting centre in a "daerah mengundi".

Even though the "daerah mengundi" information is available to voters on the Election Commission website, it is not crucial compared to knowing where the relevant voting centre is located.

The “saluran” (polling stream) denotes the actual ballot box you will use.

In rural voting centres, there will be just one “saluran”. In big voting centres, there could be a dozen.

In voting centres where there are more than one “saluran”, voters are usually arranged according to age - those in “saluran 1” tend to be older than those in “saluran 2”.

For example, the Taman Seremban Jaya polling district in the Rasah parliamentary constituency has 17 “saluran”. “Saluran 1” was allocated to the most senior voters while the youngest voters voted in “saluran 17”.

You can see which “saluran” you belong to when inspecting your voting details on the Election Commission website.

Check out the story to find out how the youngest and oldest voters in Peninsular Malaysia voted in GE14, based on the data analysis of the polling streams.

During a “general election”, most states will hold legislative assembly elections concurrently with Parliamentary elections.

Therefore, if your state is not holding legislative assembly (DUN) elections, you can still vote for a representative to Parliament.

If you want to vote for a member of the state legislative assembly, you will have to wait until an election is called.

Yes. But you won't be able to change your voting constituency in time for GE15 because voter lists are finalised monthly.

Updating of addresses on the voter list can be performed at post offices or at the Election Commission branches.

You will need to provide proof of domicile and have your address on MyKad updated.

Check the Election Commission website for details on how to register for postal voting. Please mind the deadlines.

You may want to consider the policy positions taken by the candidates or parties seeking your vote.

You may also want to consider if the candidate has been living beyond his or her means.

If your MP is seeking re-election, you can use this tool by the MyMP project to inspect their attendance record and questions asked in the Dewan Rakyat.

Each ballot will come with a unique serial number that is not linked to your identity. Therefore, your vote will be kept a secret.

All voters will get a chance to choose their members of Parliament. Some voters will be able to choose their representative for the state legislative assembly if such elections were held concurrently.

The indelible ink is used to mark those who have received their ballot papers at the polling stations and prevent them from doing so multiple times.

However, voters who are qualified to vote by post are not marked. Such voters are a minority.

Yes. The Election Commission staff will apply indelible ink on other parts of your fingers. If you don't have fingers, other parts of your hand or arm can be marked.

No. Before marking your ballot at the booth, you have to surrender your smart phone to the presideing officer.

You can collect your smart phone after voting.

If you have reasons to believe that someone voted on your behalf, file a police report.

Keep quiet. No one is allowed to canvas for votes within 50m of the polling centres. This includes donning party paraphernalia, such as t-shirts or hats. Unauthorised photography, video recording and live streaming are prohibited as well.

No. There is a risk of your ballot being considered "spoiled" or void.

Defacing a ballot paper is also a crime under Section 3(1)(b) of the Election Offences Act 1954.

No. Removing ballot papers from polling stations is a crime under Section 3(1)(h) of the Election Offences Act 1954.

No. Selling ballot papers is a crime under Section 3(1)(e) of the Election Offences Act 1954.

No. Printing ballot papers to be used in the election without authority is a crime under Section 3(1)(j) of the Election Offences Act 1954.

No. The Election Commission determines the constituency of a new voter based on the address stated in the new voter's MyKad.

Voters can update their address with Election Commission once a new address is stated in their MyKad.

Voting at any election, that one is not entitled to, is a crime under Section 3(1)(l) of the Election Offences Act 1954.

Not every party will field a candidate in your constituency. Sometimes, parties participate in an election as part of a coalition and use a different logo.

No. That would constitute a violation of Section 5(2) and Section 5(3) of the Elections Offences Act 1954.

Voting will take place between 8am and 6pm in Peninsular Malaysia and between 7.30am and 5.30pm in Sabah and Sarawak.

Once voting is over, votes will be counted in front of scrutineers comprising representatives of the candidates. Once the counting is completed, the head of the polling station and scrutineers will sign Form 14 to finalise the results.

A returning officer (officer in charge of an election) will collect Form 14 to tally the results.

No, voters must leave the polling station after voting. No loitering.

You can log onto Malaysiakini to follow the count live. During the 2018 election, Malaysiakini was the first news organisation to announce who won the federal election. Malaysiakini will also provide you with live expert analysis.

Malaysia follows a "first-past-the-post" system. The candidate with the most votes will be elected, regardless of whether the candidate has a majority or not.

For example, there were six candidates vying for the Maharani seat during the 2022 Johor state elections. The winner had only the support of 36 percent of the people who voted.

This system can create governments with overwhelming control over a legislature, with less than 50 percent support from the electorate as was seen during the 2022 Johor elections.

The elected lawmakers from different parties or coalitions will have to work out who among them should be the prime minister. This has happened before in Sabah, Perak and Kedah during the 2018 elections.

Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall appoint an MP whom his majesty believe commands the majority support of his peers as prime minister. The state ruler or governor will perform similar functions at the state level by choosing a menteri besar, chief minister or premier.

Any person with evidence of a violation of the election process can file a petition to nullify an election result. Most petitions are unsuccessful. The most recent successful election petition happened in 2018, resulting in fresh elections for Kimanis being called.

You will be voting for a member of Parliament (MP) and a state assemblyperson if your state is holding a concurrent legislative assembly election.

You don't have to. Since December 2021, all citizens over the age of 18 are automatically added to the voter list. New lists are finalised monthly.

Everyone pays taxes, directly and indirectly, to the federal government, state government and local authorities.

In turn, these governments spend the taxes based on the instructions of legislative bodies - Parliament, state legislative assemblies or a municipal council.

The legislative bodies also legislate - create, abolish or amend laws.

During an election, Malaysians choose their representatives to sit on those legislative bodies.

Absolutely. Abstention is a democratic right.

A Parliament is a body that makes laws. It creates, amends or abolishes laws.

State legislative assemblies serve similar functions.

At the most basic level, an MP represents a constituency in Parliament by debating and voting on proposed laws (bills) and proposing actions to be taken by Parliament (motions).

An MP can also take on other roles such as becoming prime minister, a member of the cabinet (assistant to the prime minister) and a member of a select committee (official groupings of MPs with special functions).

Individual MPs can also suggest topics to be discussed by Parliament and propose laws (private members’ bill).

For a comparison of the different roles played by MPs, state assembly persons and local councillors, please check out this infographic by Sinar Project.

Some MPs provide various "services" to their constituents purely for popularity although no law requires them to.

For example, some MPs will meet voters once a week to try to resolve issues related to local authorities, scholarship applications, donations and other non-legislative issues.

Not all MPs provide such "services" just as not all MPs actively legislate.

No. However, since an MP has access to cabinet ministers who control a budget, the MP can lobby for public infrastructure, grants and other funding which can benefit a constituency.

This can lead to abuse.

Check out this game to understand more about how MPs spend their money and time on their constituents.

Under the newly created Article 49A of the Federal Constitution, an MP will have to vacate their seat if: 1) The MP resigns from the political party that he or she was a member of upon being elected; or, 2) The MP joins a different political party after being elected.

State assemblypersons are not bound to similar laws except in Penang and Perlis.

A political party is a group of politicians with shared ideas on how a government should be run.

In the Malaysian context, political parties usually form coalitions before an election in order to consolidate their respective supporters under one team.

The executive executes or implements the law.

The cabinet meets weekly to make executive decisions.

Cabinet members also oversee regulatory agencies and government-linked companies.

Learn more about this topic on Ideas’ Pantau Kuasa website.

The prime minister is the most powerful member of Dewan Rakyat (lower house of Parliament) or "first among equals".

Weekly cabinet meetings are typically chaired by the prime minister.

The prime minister has the power to decide on the agenda of Parliament and nominate cabinet members that will execute powers prescribed in Acts (laws).

The prime minister also advises the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on many important functions, such as key appointments for judges, members of the Dewan Negara (upper house of Parliament), the police and the attorney-general.

Not directly. Malaysians can choose an MP - their representative that will sit in the Dewan Rakyat. In turn, the MPs will choose among themselves who will be prime minister.

Once the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is convinced one MP has the majority support of his or her peers, then that MP would be made prime minister.

The equivalent of the prime minister in a state government can either be a menteri besar, chief minister or, only in the case of Sarawak, a premier.

The cabinet is appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to advise him on his duties.

The Agong first appoints a prime minister and then, on the advice of the prime minister, appoints other cabinet members.

Cabinet members must either be an MP (member of the Dewan Rakyat) or senator (member of the Dewan Negara).

As of April 2022, the largest Parliamentary constituency was Bangi, in Selangor. This constituency has 300,943 voters.

The smallest is Igan in Sarawak with 28,228 voters. This meant that the Bangi constituency has 10.67 times more voters than Igan.

This is a phenomenon known as malapportionment.

How does malapportionment affect you?