Groom fulfils his vows and duty

Wedding party: Muhammad Nur Aizat and his family after casting their votes at SJK(C) Pei Chai before rushing for his bersanding ceremony.

MUAR: A newly-married couple carried out their duties as citizens and went to cast their votes in the middle of their wedding.

Muhammad Nur Aizat Fuad, 25, said he and his bride, Nurul Nafisah Mohamed Azizi, 20, rushed to their polling stations right after their solemnisation ceremony.

“We wanted to be back in time for our bersanding ceremony in the afternoon.

“It was a rather hectic day, but it’s not a problem as this is our responsibility as citizens anyway,” he told reporters when met at SJKC Pei Chai here.

Muhammad Nur Aizat voted with his mother Fauziah Pader, 47, and several other family members here, while his wife cast her vote at SM Agama Bakri Batu Enam.

“We did not expect polling day to fall on the same day as our wedding, but I see it as a special coincidence,” he said.

Muhammad Nur Aizat and Nurul Nafisah have known each other since they were in secondary school.

Universiti Utara Malaysia student Derrick Chua Cheng Tak, 21, said he was happy that he was on his semester break.

“It was such a good coincidence. I can be with my family without having to think about rushing back to Kedah the next day,” he said.

He added that he would have still come back to vote even if he was not on his semester break.

Chua came to vote with his mother Tang Meng Ser, 40, and 66-year-old grandmother Teo Hwa Tim.

Retiree P. Mohan, 60, came early to vote as there would be less of a crowd in the morning.

“I decided to come early to avoid any traffic congestion.

“My wife and two of my children are voting at another polling station.

“Unfortunately, my two youngest children were unable to come back and vote as they are studying in Sabah and Sarawak,” he said.

Mohan has two other children in the police force who have already cast their votes as early voters.

He said he hoped there would be improvements in the voting process so that people living or working in Sabah and Sarawak could return home to vote.

“The price of the air tickets are about RM300 each one way, which is too expensive for me.

“I’m disappointed that my children cannot come home to cast their votes, but I’m grateful that the rest of us in my family have done so,” he said.