Dear Sir,

It is good to learn that the Elections Department is still "looking into the matter" of overseas voting ("Issue of overseas voting under study", ST, 24/3/00). As it noted, this question was last discussed in Parliament in October 1998. It will be recalled that the government's main reason then for ruling out overseas voting was that Singaporeans abroad may not understand the issues and could not be trusted to vote in the best interests of our country. As the debate drew to a close, the government was no longer relying on logistical and technical difficulties to justify its decision.

Some eighteen months have passed since then, and it is encouraging to note that the Elections Department appears to have identified the "conceptual and practical issues" to be resolved before overseas voting can begin. It would be useful for the Department to update the public by sharing these issues with Singaporeans and briefly summarizing the status of its study and the work done so far. More importantly, would it also be possible to provide an estimate of how much longer it will take to complete the study and publish the results? Given that the next general election is due by 2002, I trust the Elections Department will agree that time is of the essence to its work.

Yours truly,