NEW YORK: The Malaysian consulate-general here is preparing for the first-ever voting allowed to Malaysians living abroad for the upcoming 13th general election.

The New York consulate has a large jurisdiction that embraces 17 states in the USA. Malaysian passport holders residing in these states can come to the New York consulate to cast their ballot.

However, Malaysia's consul-general, Syed Mohammed Bakri Syed Abdul Rahman, told Bernama at his office here that it was "very important" for Malaysian nationals interested in casting their votes to first read and understand the guidelines for overseas voting available on the Election Commission's website.

"Malaysians voting abroad have to first register with the Election Commission and get themselves certified as eligible voters before they come to the consulate to vote," he said.

There are some 15,500 Malaysian nationals officially registered with the consulate from its consular jurisdiction over the 17 states.

However, Syed Mohammed Bakri believed that the unofficial figure of Malaysians living in the New York consulate's jurisdiction could be as high as 100,000 because many of them did not register themselves.

As for 2013, the consul-general said his aim was to increase his contacts with the Malaysian business fraternity on the east coast, and find out "what we can do to help them from our side". - Bernama

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