More than half turn out to vote in Kimanis, cops say all's calm at polls

BEAUFORT: More than half of the registered voters in the Kimanis parliamentary constituency have come out to vote as of noon on Saturday (Jan 18).

According to the Election Commission website, a total of 50.37% voter turnout was registered as of 12pm.

Beaufort OCPD Deputy Supt Azmir Abd Razak said the situation so far has been quite calm.

"We have yet to receive information of any major incidents," he said when contacted at 12.30pm.

He hopes voters and supporters from both Parti Warisan Sabah and Barisan Nasional will keep calm, maintain order and prevent from causing any problems throughout this by-election.

The Kimanis by-election is a straight fight between Parti Warisan Sabah's Datuk Karim Bujang and Barisan Nasional's Datuk Mohamad Alamin, with incumbent former Umno MP Datuk Seri Anifah Aman staying out of the race after holding the seat since 1990.

There are 29,644 voters in Kimanis, comprising 42% Muslim bumiputras, 41% non-Muslim bumiputras and 6% Chinese and the parliamentary constituency is made up of two state seats, Membakut and Bongawan.

The Kimanis seat was declared vacant after the Federal Court on Dec 2 upheld the Election Court's ruling, nullifying Anifah's victory in the 14th General Election in May 2018.

Anifah, a former foreign minister, had won the seat with a 156-vote majority, securing 11,942 votes against Karim's 11,786 votes while another candidate, Jaafar Ismail of Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah, had obtained 1,300 votes.