First-time voters among the early birds

GEORGE TOWN: He was so eager to cast his ballot as a first-time voter that he made sure all his documents were in order the night before.

L/kpl Mohd Hamizan Hadi, 27, who hails from Arau, Perlis, said he was excited and nervous at the same time.

“I reached the voting centre at around 7.45am and lined up for my turn to cast my vote.

“As this is my first time voting, I took some time to familiarise myself with the dos and don’ts.

“I missed the last election as I had just entered the police force and did not manage to register myself as a voter in time,” he said after casting his ballot at the Penang police contingent headquarters here yesterday.

Police personnel Yu Lei Wan, 28, also took her time to understand the voting process.

The first-time voter, who is from Sibu, Sarawak, has been in Penang for the past eight years.

“I did not get to vote the previous time as I registered late.

“It is indeed an exciting experience,” she said.

Asst Supt Lilian Lemat Ngau Jok, 36, who will be on call with the forensic team on polling day, said this was her third time voting.

“I was excited to vote and was one of the first few who arrived before early voting started at 8am,” said Lilian, who hails from Marudi, Sarawak.

Logistics officer L/kpl Mohamad Zaki Zainol Abidin, 33, said he had cast his ballot via postal vote three times before but this was the first time voting physically at a polling station.

“I am from Alor Setar, Kedah, and I look forward to voting here together with my colleagues,” he said.

They were among 6,051 police personnel and officers in Penang who cast their early votes ahead of the polling day for GE15 on Saturday.

Penang police chief Comm Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said there were 28 voting centres for police personnel in Penang.

“We also have 187 police personnel and officers in charge of helping the Election Commission during early voting,” he told reporters after casting his ballot at the Penang police headquarters.

Due to the uncertain weather conditions, he advised the community to always be prepared to face the possibility of floods.

Comm Mohd Shuhaily added that 47,000 express meals had been prepared for those who would be on duty on polling day.

Over at the Gemilang Hall in central Seberang Prai, there was a hiccup when Pakatan Harapan’s candidate for Permatang Pauh Nurul Izzah Anwar filed a complaint that a polling agent was wearing inappropriate attire during the early voting process.

However, an Election Commission representative said they checked on the complaint and found that there was no party logo and no candidate name on the outfit.

“It is just that the colour of the clothes is similar to a political party’s colours,” he said.

In Alor Setar, 6,041 police personnel and officers as well as their spouses exercised their rights as early voters at 20 polling stations in the state.

Kedah police chief Comm Datuk Wan Hassan Wan Ahmad said early voting involved officers and personnel from the General Operation Force (GOF) in Kulim, GOF Batalion 2 in Bukit Kayu Hitam, Langkawi marine police and Langkawi police training centre.

It involved 5,900 officers and personnel along with 141 spouses.

Earlier, some 837 police personnel including Comm Wan Hassan voted at the Kedah police headquarters.

On separate matter, he said a total of four men were arrested by police in connection with various election offences since nomination day on Nov 5.

He said they received 263 reports and opened 24 investigation papers as of Monday.