ONLY a Malaysian citizen, aged above 21 years, who has registered as a voter by Dec 31 last year can vote in Election 2008.

Before going out to vote on Saturday, please check that you are a registered voter, and at which polling station and in which stream you are supposed to vote.

You can check for these details by phone, internet or SMS (short messaging service). Here’s how:

1. Call the Election Commission call centre at 03-8885 6600 between 8am and 12am. There are 10 hunting lines, so you won’t have to wait long, assures EC secretary Datuk Kamaruzaman Mohd Noor.

2. Alteratively, you can check the EC’s website www.spr.gov.my. Enter either the Bahasa Malaysia or English website, and click on the server box, labelled “Checking Electoral Roll to Ascertain Polling Centre and Polling Stream” (see pictures above). A separate page will open, in which you will have to key in either your new 12-digit IC number, or your old IC number, including (if any) a preceding alphabet. If you are a registered voter, your full voter details will then reveal itself to you on the page.
3. Celcom, Maxis or Digi handphone subscribers can check their details via SMS. Type: SPRIC number, and send the SMS to either of these numbers:

39111; 33626; 32232; 39988; 29777; 36677; 33030.

Any of these methods will tell you two things:

Whether your name is on the electoral roll (if it isn’t, then the search will say RECORD NOT FOUND — in which case, you can’t vote); if your name is on the electoral roll, then the check will also give you the following information:

1. Your name, IC number and gender as listed under that polling station.

2. Your Parliamentary constituency.

3. Your State constituency.

4. The name of the polling station in which you are to cast your vote (a school or community hall).

5. Which stream you are in.

6. Voting time: Between 8am and 5pm.

7. Your serial number.

Now, go check.