Early birds flock polling centres, food sellers kept busy

IPOH: Polling day turned out to be a super busy day for food vendor Shamlan Putih Yaccob who flipped more than 300 pieces of roti canai within two hours.

The 65-year-old said many voters made a beeline for his stall, located near SK Tanah Hitam polling centre in Chemor here, for a quick breakfast.

“They came quite early and I’ve been cooking non-stop since 7.30am,” he said.

Polling opened at 8am and ended at 6pm.

“I haven’t cast my ballot yet, but I will do so after I finish selling all my roti canai,” he said, adding that he had prepared nearly 500 pieces for the day.

Hazizah Yang Hassan, 92, was seen waiting with her daughter, Norainon Yahya, 65, to cast their votes at the school.

Norainon said her mother had just celebrated her birthday on Thursday and was looking forward to performing her duty as a voter even though she could not remember how many times she had voted.

“She asked me to teach her what to do at the polling centre and to make sure her Mykad is in a good condition. Although she can’t hear or speak clearly, she knows what she has to do. I am proud of her,” said Norainon.

At Sekolah Agama Rakyat Al-intidaiyah in Tambun, housewife Noor Wizana Amran was the first to arrive to cast her vote before heading for Melaka.

The 41-year-old said she had arrived at the centre at 6.59am.

“I have to come early as my husband is from Melaka, and he needs to cast his vote there,” she explained.

Teh Choong Her, 68, and his wife Leong Lian Shun, 57, from Bandar Baru Tambun, arrived at 7am.

“We want someone with high integrity, committed, have people in their heart and the welfare of the nation as priority,” said Teh.