Types of voter
Registering to vote
Normal voter
A normal voter is a person who's:
- 21 years old or older
- registered as a voter in Malaysia
- lives and votes in a Malaysian constituency
Normal voters vote in local neighbourhoods based on their address in their MyKad.
You don't need to re-register yourself as an absent voter if you head overseas. You can request a postal ballot every time an election is due.
Absent voter
An absent voter is a person who's:
- serving or is a spouse to someone in the military, government or is studying full-time overseas
- 21 years old or older
- registered as a voter
Military voters vote based on where they're stationed. They vote through advanced or postal voting.
Students and government voters overseas vote based on the address stated on their MyKad. They vote through postal voting.
You lose the right to vote as an absent voter once you:
- retire or return from the military government service overseas
- finish your studies overseas and head back to Malaysia
- cease being a spouse to someone in the military, government or overseas student
You can register as a normal voter once your name is struck off the electoral roll as an absent voter.
Returning home soon?
If you're returning to Malaysia soon, you can go to your Malaysian Mission and request to register as a normal voter. The process is the same as registering as an absent voter overseas.
