Voter’s card a hit with Semenyih folk

This way please: SPR staff member Zurani Mohamed Kisasi guiding a voter at the SK Bandar Rinching polling centre.

SEMENYIH: The voter’s card, used for the first time in yesterday’s by-election, is a hit with voters here.

Most of them relished the fact that they did not have to waste time queuing up to check their details before proceeding to the ballot boxes.

The cards, which were sent out by the Election Commission (EC), had personal details such as the voter’s name, MyKad number, voting stream and the time and place to cast the ballot papers.

Several officers were also on hand to guide voters to their respective streams.

Shirin Malar, who was accompanying her 64-year-old mother E. Dhanaletchumy at the polling station in SM Engku Husain, was glad that they did not have to queue for their turns.

“We had to wait very long in the last election. But today, we just go straight to our respective channels,” said the teacher.

Another voter, Norhayati Abd Manaf, 43, was also pleasantly surprised with the smooth process.

“The last time, we had to check for our voting streams. But now, the official only had to look at the card and direct us to our streams.

“It was all done in just 10 minutes. I actually downloaded Netflix videos in anticipation of a long queue,” she said.

The voter’s card is among the new reforms mooted by the EC.

Other reforms include extending voting hours by 30 minutes from 8am to 5.30pm and airing the vote-tallying process live on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.