Mahkota polls: Orang Asli among earliest to vote

KLUANG: The Orang Asli were among the early birds who fulfilled their responsibilities in the Mahkota state by-election on Saturday (Sept 28).

The Tok Batin of Kampung Tanah Runtuh here, Mohd Noorsham Abdullah, 49, said he got up as early as 6am and got the villagers together to go to the polls.

"We came in a group of 15 people. The polling station is just nearby. By 7am, we were already at the polling station.

"We don't want to miss out on electing our representative. After all, the process is easy and it's over in just a few minutes,” he said when met at the polling centre at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Sultan Abdul Jalil here.

Noorsham’s wife and two children also voted at the polling centre.

Housewife Radiah Sahari, 35, from the Jakun tribe, said it was her third time at the polls and she left on her motorcycle early to go to the polling station.

"I have to fulfil my responsibility to choose the elected representative as he will be the one who will help us. It is important because our village is the only Orang Asli village here. We have to make sure we choose a good one," she said.

The Mahkota state by-election witnesses a straight fight between Barisan Nasional candidate Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah and Perikatan Nasional Mohamad Haizan Jaafar.

The by-election was held following the death of incumbent Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain, 63, last Aug 2.- Bernama