Friend’s wake-up call gets technician to the polls

JOHOR BARU: A 53-year-old technician would have missed his chance to vote if not for a friend’s morning call reminding him of the important task.

Identified only as Lim, the man who commutes to work at a factory in Singapore daily, said he knew of the by-election for the Pulai state seat at his constituency but did not remember the date.

“I went to bed quite late last night after a long day at work and planned to sleep in today, but a friend called to wake me up at 7am. He told me to go out and vote.

“I jumped into the shower and rushed here to vote,” he said when met at the SMK Taman Bukit Indah polling centre.

Although he was startled awake, he thanked the friend for his kind reminder.

Also met at the school were fashion designer Toh Wan Teng, her elder sister, younger brother and their parents.

“The three of us work and live across the strait. We came back by bus last night and reached here around 11pm,” she said.

Toh said their 60-year-old father, who works in the island republic, took a day off from work to exercise his duty as a citizen.

“It was my dad’s idea for all of us to come together; it is like a family outing,” added the 27-year-old.

She said her parents have always reminded them of the importance of voting for the betterment of the country.

“We took photos of our inked fingers and posted them on social media to mark the occasion,” she said.