Political studies programme fellow Toh Kin Woon said apart from the usual police and military voters, a larger pool of postal voters could tilt the scales in favour of BN.
With an estimated 400,000 postal voters in marginal seats around the country, Toh said BN could virtually be guaranteed of a win.
He said this was because in every election, 98% of postal voters voted for the coalition.
He also accused the Election Commission (EC) of “massive gerrymandering” under the new electoral boundaries passed amid strong protest from the opposition in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday.
“Massive gerrymandering and malapportionment aside, another way (for BN to win) is to increase the number of postal voter categories,” Toh, who is part of electoral reforms coalition Bersih 2.0, told a forum organised by Penang-based pressure group Aliran last night.
“If they place these voters strategically in marginal seats, then you should know what the outcome will be in these seats.
“I was told that for the new category of medical workers who want to apply to be postal voters, the director-general of one hospital told them that they have to ‘vote in front of him’.”
Toh said it was not surprising then that only 2% were “brave enough” to vote for the opposition.
The former Penang assemblyman, who served as state exco member for three terms, said postal votes should be properly vetted through and counted on the same day they are collected, instead of the present practice of placing them in police stations.
He said activists had been fighting for a long time for polling and counting agents to be present at postal voting centres.
But Toh said despite the odds stacked against the opposition, a high voter turnout on polling day could turn the tide in its favour.
“To naysayers, I can only say: please remember the 2008 general election, when five states fell to the opposition and BN lost its two-thirds majority.”