Yahya urges employers to allow their staff to go to vote

KOTA KINABALU: Voting day on May 9 is not a rest day, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Yahya Hussin.

He said the government had declared the day as a public holiday in order for the people to be able to cast their votes at their respective voting stations.

As for the private sector, Yahya urged employers to give the opportunity to their employees to vote on the said day as polling day only comes once in five years.

Commenting on the Sabah Barisan Nasinal manifesto which will be launched on Wednesday, he said it will be the same as the national manifesto with some additions at the state level that are relevant to Sabah, such as Sabah’s right, job opportunities and housing among others.

Yahya was met during the closing ceremony of Putatan level Sinda-iT 2018 program which was held yesterday at the Dewan Raya Kampung Duvanson in Putatan.

The event, which was organized by the Ministry of Resource Development and Information Technology, helped to expose IT knowledge to the people in the rural areas, said Yahya.

He pointed out that nowadays, almost everyone has media social accounts such as WhatsApp, and news also travels fast from one place to another along with fake news, he said.

With the Anti-Fake News Act 2018 in place which carries a maximum fine of RM500,000 or a jail term of up to 10 years or both, upon conviction, Yahya said such program would educate the people to be more careful and to not easily spread news without confirming its validity.