BENTONG: Rokiah Said, an 80-year-old woman, became the first to arrive, eager to cast her vote at the SMK Felda Chemomoi polling centre, here.
Accompanying her was her daughter, Melati Nisa, 52, who had been with her since 7am. They had waited outside the polling centre for it to open. Their home is not far, just about a kilometre away.
"If there's a voting day, I get so excited about doing my part as a voter… without any excuses, even though I'm not in the best of health. I have leg pain, but I'm determined to come and vote. Plus, I have my daughter to accompany me. No problem," she said when met by reporters after voting at the school.
According to Melati, her mother had been reminding her since yesterday to do the necessary preparations and checks to go out and vote this morning.
She added that her mother was willing to skip breakfast this morning because she was so eager to fulfil her duty as a voter in the Pelangai state seat election.
"She invited me even before dawn, saying she's willing to skip breakfast because she's so enthusiastic about voting today. Since last night, she has been reminding me to prepare our identification cards, fearing that we might have trouble finding them in the morning," she said.
At exactly 8am today, a total of nine polling stations involving 30 channels will be open until 6 pm, before the vote counting process takes place at the official vote counting centre at the Felda Kemasul public hall.
Today, a total of 16,456 eligible voters are expected to cast their votes in the by-election for the Pelangai state seat to elect their new assemblyman.
The by-election is being called for following the death of its incumbent Datuk Seri Johari Harun in a plane crash in Bandar Elmina, Shah Alam, Selangor, on Aug 17.
