The Malaysian Election Commission (EC) announced it will study the proposal to extend postal voting to auxiliary police officers who guard strategic assets and critical infrastructure across the country. The decision came following a suggestion raised during a Dewan Negara session on August 3, 2026, by Deputy Minister M. Kulasegaran, who confirmed the EC's commitment to review the matter carefully [1, 2, 3].
The EC plans to consider operational requirements, relevant legal provisions, and election implementation before deciding. Postal voting in Malaysia currently applies to three categories of voters: 1A (including EC members, election workers, armed forces, police, and media personnel on duty during elections), 1B (Malaysians residing abroad), and 1C (personnel from select government agencies required to work on polling day) [1, 2, 3].
Auxiliary police officers, numbering about 27,000, are employed across ministries, government-linked companies, public transport, airports, ports, energy, utilities, financial institutions, and the oil and gas sector. Despite their security roles, they are currently excluded from eligibility for early or postal voting [1, 2, 3].
Senator Datuk Salehuddin Saidin highlighted the issue, emphasizing that auxiliary police face the risk of missing the opportunity to vote if leave on polling day is denied. However, granting simultaneous leave to all auxiliary police could jeopardize security at strategic facilities [3]. The EC aims to balance these concerns carefully in its study.
Deputy Minister Kulasegaran noted, "Although the categories of voters currently eligible for early and postal voting are prescribed under existing regulations, the EC has taken note of the proposal raised by the honourable senator" [1]. He added, "Postal voting is subject to the relevant legal provisions and consideration of voter categories required to remain on duty during elections without disrupting the smooth conduct of the electoral process and essential government services" [2].
To facilitate voting access, the EC encourages all voters, including auxiliary police personnel, to transfer their voting constituency to their current place of residence [1, 2, 3].
The EC's study is ongoing, with no announcement yet on a timeline for any changes to postal voting rules for auxiliary police officers.
