GE15: Ismail Sabri hopes for smooth voting process

BERA: Caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob hopes that the voting process in the 15th General Election (GE15) on Saturday (Nov 19) will run smoothly without any provocation or untoward incident.

The incumbent Bera MP hoped the harmonious momentum enjoyed throughout the two-week campaign, which has not seen any major incident, will continue until the results are announced and also in the days after.

Ismail Sabri also hoped all quarters, including political party supporters, will accept the results of the polls, regardless of the outcome.

"We must accept (polls results) in a spirited manner without causing any commotion ... accept the people’s decision with an open heart.

"We don’t want to go back to days in the past when people began marching clad in black and hurling allegations to the point of triggering provocative incidents,” he told a media conference after attending a meet-and-greet session with local residents at Bandar 32 here Friday (Nov 18).

He also advised voters returning to their hometowns to fulfil their voting responsibility to exercise caution during their journey.

In a related development, Ismail Sabri also gave an assurance that Barisan Nasional (BN), if given a fresh mandate, will implement more initiatives on matters pertaining to the well-being and interests of the people.

He said the Barisan-led government’s seriousness in looking after the interests of the people is reflected in its various achievements throughout his 16-month leadership, despite him having taken over the administration at a time the country was facing the Covid-19 pandemic.

"I took over the government when the biggest issue involved the people’s lives as Covid-19 cases were high. Our focus in the early stages then was to keep cases under control until the numbers (new cases) decreased and we could reopen the various sectors to enable the people to live normal lives.

"I promise if (Barisan) is given another five years, more initiatives that we had planned for the people can be implemented as we will have a longer period to carry them out,” he said.

Ismail Sabri also appealed to young voters to throw their support behind Barisan, whom he said had always taken care of their interests, besides being a coalition that was vastly experienced and has a good track record of administrating the country. - Bernama