KUALA LUMPUR – Despite the longer-than-usual queues, the voters at Sungai Buloh polling stations expressed satisfaction with the voting process as waiting time was down to less than an hour in Malaysia’s 15th general election (GE) compared with three hours in GE14.
Long lines were partly due to the young and first-time voters who were added to the electoral roll. About 37 per cent of the 158,090 voters of Sungai Buloh are aged between 18 and 29 years.
One middle-aged man, who was leaving the polling station, was overheard saying: “I wasn’t the first one in the queue; so many people were lined up before me even though I came here early.”
An enthusiastic Chinese voter, who gave her name only as Sherlyn, expressed her appreciation for the shorter voting process as the queues were moving fast.
“This time it is much faster compared with the last general election in 2018. I had changed my flight ticket to Langkawi to the afternoon from the morning just to vote,” said the 30-year-old while standing in the queue with a black travelling bag.
First-time voter Joyce, 25, said voting was “fast and efficient” with the Election Commission (EC) workers guiding her through the process.
Echoing similar views, Mr Chong, 81, who was walking with the aid of a cane, said the EC workers handled the senior citizens in a “caring and orderly” manner as they turned up in droves at the SMK Seksyen 8 Kota Damansara polling station in the Sungai Buloh district.
Ms Fathin Aziz, a voter, said the personality of the candidate was more important to her than the political party, hinting that Mr Khairy Jamaluddin, who has been a popular caretaker Health Minister, will be her choice.
Umno’s Mr Khairy is facing off against his key challenger, Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s Mr Ramanan Ramakrishnan, in a seven-cornered fight for the Sungai Buloh seat.
“I am formerly from Rembau district which is Mr Khairy’s stronghold. There have been lot of changes in Rembau in terms of infrastructure and even upgraded facilities for schools. Mr Khairy works hard for the constituency he represents. I have now moved to Sungai Buloh, and it is a surprise that he is contesting here,” said the 47-year-old Ms Fathin.
After voting in Rembau, Mr Khairy visited his voters at the Sungai Buloh polling station, where the crowd cheered in support for him.
When asked about his chances of winning, he said it is still early to predict as Sungai Buloh is a tough seat.
“I have done my best for Sungai Buloh in the two-week election campaign period,” he told reporters after visiting the SMK Seksyen 7 Kota Damansara polling station.
Mr Khairy added: “I cannot tackle all issues overnight. But the first thing I will do is look into solving the issues of the people.”
Independent candidate Syed Abdul Razak was spotted wearing a songkok while speaking in Hokkien to the voters in the SMK Seksyen 8 Kota Damansara polling station.
When asked if he would join a political party should he win the Sungai Buloh seat, he said it depends on the party offering him a ministerial post.
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MCI (P) 076/10/2022, MCI (P) 077/10/2022. Published by SPH Media Limited, Co. Regn. No. 202120748H. Copyright © 2022 SPH Media Limited. All rights reserved.