CHUKAI: Being on duty did not stop Kamal Abd Wahab from fulfilling his civic duty of voting in the Kemaman by-election yesterday.
The 37 year old oil and gas industry worker turned heads at the SMK Geliga voting centre when he arrived clad in orange overalls to cast his ballot.
Stationed at the Telok Kalong Yard, Kamal said he had obtained permission from his employer to take a brief break to cast his vote for the parliamentary by-election.
Age is no deterrent: An elderly woman casting her ballot at SMK Sultan Ismail. — Bernama
“I am grateful that my employer gave me a brief break to cast my vote, and I don’t want to miss this opportunity even though this will be my third time voting in Kemaman,” he told Bernama.
This by-election marks the third time that the parliamentary constituency’s voters will be electing their representative after the 15th General Election (GE15). The second time was during the state elections in August.
Kemaman’s GE15 result was nullified by the Terengganu Election Court after it found elements of bribery in the campaign, and a by-election was called.
Choosing their rep: Youth voters posing for a picture with their ink-stained fingers after voting in the Kemaman by-election at SMK Sultan Ismail in Kemaman, Terengganu. (Left) Election Commission personnel carrying ballot boxes to be counted. — Bernama
The contest was between General (Rtd) Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor of Barisan Nasional, and Terengganu Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, representing Perikatan Nasional.
Senior citizen Low Ah Looi, 69, from Kampung Pengkalan Cicar, was still excited about casting her vote for the third time.
“I am still excited because this responsibility is important even though it’s just one vote, it is very valuable and can change the outcome,” she said when met at the SMK Sultan Ismail voting centre.
Meanwhile, Suhaila Abd Rahman, 44, and her daughter, Balqis Nabilah Muhammad Azwan, 19, were among the earliest voters to arrive at the polling centre at SK Kampung Baru Kertih.
Suhaila said that they arrived at 7am and waited for the polling centre to open.
“We came early to quickly cast our votes because, after this, we are heading straight to Johor to take my daughter back to campus at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.”
