JOHOR BARU: For 98-year-old Fatom Abdullah, casting her vote is more than a civic duty – it is a tradition she has faithfully observed since Malaya’s first federal election in 1955.
The Kampung Melayu Majidee resident, who celebrates her 98th birthday this month, has never missed an election in more than seven decades, and is expected to vote again today at her polling station in the Larkin constituency.
“I want to vote because ever since the very first election, I have been voting.”
If she casts her ballot today, Fatom will have voted in 32 elections over 71 years – comprising 15 general elections, 16 Johor state elections and the 1988 Johor Baru parliamentary by-election.
Her voting journey has spanned every prime minister from Tunku Abdul Rahman to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“When I found out polling day was here, I told myself I had to go. If we do not vote, we are the ones who lose. As Malaysians, we must fulfil our responsibility as voters,” she said when met at her home yesterday.
Fatom said voting had never been a burden.
“It is not difficult. It only takes a short while and after that I go back home,” she said with a smile.
She will be accompanied by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who take turns bringing her to the polling station at a nearby religious school.
She hopes to continue voting for as long as her health permits.
She has even picked out a blue baju kurung to wear for polling day.
Over nearly a century, Fatom has witnessed many defining moments in Malaysia’s history, including the Japanese Occupation, the country’s road to independence and the leadership of successive generations of national leaders.
She still vividly remembers seeing Tunku campaigning in Johor Baru in the 1950s before Malaya achieved independence.
“I was still a young unmarried woman then.
“Tunku came to Johor Baru to campaign because he wanted the people’s support before our country became independent.”
She has also witnessed three generations of the Onn family holding prominent leadership positions.
“I lived through the time when Datuk Onn Jaafar was Johor mentri besar.
“Then his son, Tun Hussein Onn, became prime minister, and now his great-grandson, Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, is Johor Mentri Besar.”
A mother of two, grandmother of six, great-grandmother of six and great-great-grandmother of five, Fatom said she was thankful for her long life.
Asked about the secret to her longevity, she laughed that eating had become difficult because she no longer had any teeth.
“I have no special diet. Life and death are in God’s hands. I have always made sure to perform my prayers and never neglect them. God has blessed me with a long life to see generations of my family grow,” she said.
Fatom is among 543,293 registered voters aged 60 and above who are eligible to cast their ballots in the 16th Johor state election.
