In a statement, the group said that the 35,092 ballots it collected had been sent to the 216 polling centres that accepted postal votes from abroad.

“Without the help of nearly 200 volunteers, it would have been impossible to distribute these postal ballots quickly and smoothly to be sent to all corners of the country,” the group said, thanking those who had lent a hand.

“We are also grateful to Global Bersih and Global Malaysian Network for their efforts in convincing Malaysians abroad to register as postal voters and bring postal ballots home from all over the world.”

Ballots had been brought back from far-reaching corners of the globe, including from the UK, Japan, Australia, Qatar and South Korea.

The group also said it had managed to increase the number of overseas registration by 603%, with the 48,109 sign-ups this year dwarfing the 7,979 submitted ahead of 2018’s general election.

“We want to emphasise that the success of the VoteMalaysia initiative is a sign of the Election Commission’s failure.

“A more effective system should be implemented as soon as possible so that overseas postal voters do not have to continue depending on civil society groups or have to fly back on their own, due to the problematic postal ballot delivery and handling system.”