Jakarta, (BERITAPOLITIK.ONLINE) –Â The General Election Commission (KPU) has reached out to Indonesian President Joko Widodo for assistance in organizing a rerun of voting (PSU) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, citing specific regulations regarding political activities of foreign countries in the neighboring nation.
Hasyim Asy’ari, Chairman of the Indonesian KPU, elucidated that these regulations involve the necessity of obtaining permission, a process that must be initiated three to six months before political events, such as voting conducted by foreign nations in Malaysia.
“In recent information, the Malaysian government has established guidelines or protocols, or some form of SOP, stating that political activities by other countries in Malaysia must apply for permission according to procedures,” said Hasyim at the KPU office in Jakarta on Monday (04/03/2024).
He further clarified that if such activities are conducted within the premises of another country or within Indonesian authority areas, such as the Indonesian Embassy (KBRI), Consulate General (KJRI), Indonesian Representative Office, or Indonesian Schools, permission must be sought three months prior to the event.
However, for political activities outside the premises of another country, permission must be secured from Malaysian authorities six months in advance. “This is contrary to previous election activities,” he remarked.
In light of these new regulations, the KPU has requested the assistance of President Joko Widodo to ensure the successful organization of the voting rerun in Kuala Lumpur.
“Therefore, due to the urgency of the situation, we have reported to the President. We seek facilitation to initiate high-level discussions between the President and the Malaysian Prime Minister to request assistance in facilitating the rerun of voting in Kuala Lumpur,” explained Hasyim.
He expressed confidence that President Jokowi’s efforts will lead to the successful implementation of the voting rerun in Kuala Lumpur.
The PSU in Kuala Lumpur will employ two methods and will be conducted over two days. These methods include voting at polling stations (TPS) and mobile ballot boxes (KSK).
The KSK method of PSU will take place on March 9, 2024, while the TPS method will be carried out the following day, March 10, 2024.
For the KSK method, polling station working groups (KPPS) will oversee the process from start to finish. The next day, the ballots will be counted concurrently with the results of the PSU from the TPS method.
Additionally, the KPU has identified a total of 62,217 registered overseas voters (DPTLN) for the voting rerun in Kuala Lumpur.
Hasyim explained that this figure was derived from the total number of voters present in Kuala Lumpur through the three previous voting methods, whether registered in the permanent voter list (DPT), additional voter list (DPTb), or special voter list (DPK).
The total number of voters for the three methods recorded in the DPT, DPTb, and DPK reached 78,000. This figure served as the basis for updating with three categories: address validity, duplicate analysis, and validity of national identification numbers (NIK) and passport numbers.
“After conducting our analysis, from the 78,000, we concluded and have established that the DPTLN for the Kuala Lumpur PSU consists of 62,217 voters,” he concluded.
