Soldier mum turns up early to cast vote

KOTA BARU: Kpl Nurul Mas Idayu Zakaria, who gave birth to her second child last week, was among the first to vote at the Eighth Infantry Brigade camp in Pengkalan Chepa here.

The 26-year-old arrived at about 7.30am, half an hour before voting opened.

“We wanted to avoid the long queue. We have the chance to vote every five years. I am glad that I was able to do my part,” she told reporters after casting her vote.

She was accompanied by her husband Kpl Mohd Nor Hisyam Zakaria, 31, who held her hand as they gingerly headed out of the voting centre.

“We left our baby boy at home. My wife needs to walk slowly and I do not want her to get hurt,” he said, adding that they got married in 2016.

They were among the 13,457 army and police personnel who were eligible for early voting statewide.

The Eighth Infantry Brigade commander Brig-Jen Datuk Nazari Abdul Hadi arrived at about 9am to cast his vote.

Barisan Nasional candidate for the Pengkalan Chepa parliamentary seat Datuk Zaluzi Sulaiman was seen shaking hands with armed forces personnel at about 9.30am.

He is challenging PAS candidate Ahmad Marzuk Shaary, the incumbent Bachok MP, and Mohamad Ibrahim from Pakatan Harapan.

According to the Election Commission’s main electoral roll gazetted on April 10, the early voting process involved 8,446 military personnel and their spouses and 5,011 police personnel and their spouses in the state.

Forty-one centres as well as 36 district police headquarters, including the main police headquarters, were opened for early voting yesterday across the state.