Voter exodus from Singapore
JOHOR BARU: Many Malaysians working in Singapore have made their way back to their hometowns ahead of polling today.
They said that they made the necessary preparations to ensure their voices are heard in the 15th General Election (GE15).
Research coordinator Doris Lim, 27, said she is looking forward to voting in this election as she had missed out on the opportunity to do so in the state election in March.
“I was planning to cast my vote for the first time during the state election but unfortunately, I caught Covid-19 just a few days before polling day.
“This time, I will not let the opportunity slip. I carpooled with several other Malaysians after work on Friday evening.
“The traffic was pretty heavy, but it’s normal as I face the same situation since I come home every weekend,” said Lim, who is a voter in the Pontian parliamentary constituency.
Customer service officer P. Thineswara Rao, 32, said it helps that polling is on a weekend.
“The only hurdle we have to face is the congestion, but it is not much of a problem for me as I already travel back and forth between Johor and Singapore every day.
“Even when the border was closed during the state election (in March), I still made my way home as I managed to get bus tickets under the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) quota at that time,” he said.
The Iskandar Puteri voter said he is looking forward to casting his vote in this election and hopes that the process would go smoothly.
Supplier project manager Mohd Arifin Halim, 29, said he decided to make his way back to Terengganu two days ahead of polling day to avoid getting caught in traffic.
“I left Singapore for Johor Baru on Thursday morning with my friend, also from Terengganu, who picked me up to travel back.
“There was a bit of a traffic crawl, but I think
the situation was still bearable. We made it back to Besut on the same day,” he said.
Mohd Arifin said he plans to return to Johor Baru right after voting today so that he will still be able to make it to work on Monday.
“At least I will have some time to rest and recover from the long hours of traveling before going back to work,” he said.