Malaysians in Singapore...come back and vote

In an informal discussion of the current political situation in Malaysia with a group of like-minded people, a guy shared his observation that Malaysians living abroad, particularly in Singapore, seem to have more passion about the current socio-political condition of their homecountry compared to Malaysians who remained here. They seem less insular, according to him, because they tend to be exposed to more sources information which are generally more accurate or critical of various socio-political issues that exist in Malaysia. For example, The Straits Times of Singapore has plenty of articles about Malaysia which you'll never read nor see in the mainstream press here. Of course, they would have their own agenda, but that is beside the point. The fact remains that Malaysians who work and live in Singapore tend to be more aware of the increasingly dire state we seem to be in, and they do show their concern by writing to Opposition leaders.

His observation of such a phenomenon ends with a challenge - would these concerned Malaysians be a good source of votes for change, and if so, what have the opposition parties do in order to target them. I think it is a valid challenge, and the opposition should plan on how to reach out to them, provided the message on the importance of their votes are clear to them. Singapore due to its proximity to Malaysia makes travelling home to vote less of a problem. Those who have not registered could just do a quick trip to any of the Johor Bahru post offices, as long as you have a valid Malaysian identity card. The key thing I guess is are these concerned Malaysians concerned enough to the point of actually making that trip just to cast their votes. I guess that is a question which my fellow Malaysians abroad would have to ask themselves. They've come so far in showing great concern for a country which they still see as home. They should consider taking just one more step to actually act out their concerns by making their votes count in this coming, and subsequent, general elections. If nothing else, they should do it for Nat's sake.