KUALA LUMPUR – The early closure of certain polling stations in Johor did not sit well with a voter who turned up after her alleged designated ballot centre closed as early as 2pm today.
In a video that made its round on social media, an Indian woman was seen standing in front of a closed polling station lambasting police officers there on why that centre was closed.
“Have the voters been informed? No one mentioned that the polling stations would be closed at 2pm.
“Show me the list of schools which close before 5pm,” she said in a video posted by Twitter user with the handle @RaviChander0670.
What’s going on? pic.twitter.com/ml3anKKMAH
— Ravi Chander (@RaviChander0670) March 12, 2022
The lady, in a red and white blouse, then said there are voters who have been at work and would only head to polling centres to cast their votes after they clock out from work.
“What about their rights as voters?!”
Meanwhile, PKR’s candidate for Layang-Layang Maszlee Malik claimed that the same incident had occurred at three polling stations in the state constituency.
In a tweet, the former education minister said his lawyer was preparing police reports and would be making a protest.
“We urge candidates and candidate representatives elsewhere to do the same,” he said.
Kejadian yang sama berlaku di tiga tempat mengundi dalam DUN Layang-Layang.
— Maszlee Malik ??? (@maszlee) March 12, 2022
Peguam kami sedang menyediakan report polis dan akan membuat bantahan.
Minta calon dan wakil calon di tempat lain turut mengambil tindakan yang sama. https://t.co/ZARVjdKmuo
According to a Malaysiakini report, DAP’s Bekok candidate M. Kanan said he was “shocked” by the Election Commission’s (EC) decision to close polling centres earlier because of a low number of ballotters.
He was quoted by the portal, asking what the rationale behind the EC’s decision is, saying that voting centres should be opened until 6pm to uphold the rights of voters who have not fulfilled their responsibilities.
However, election watchdog Tindak Malaysia had shared a screenshot of a government gazette, which details a list of polling centres in Bekok along with their closing times.
In the screen grab shared, there are two polling stations – Pusat Jagaan Kanak-kanak Ladang Gunung Mas and Dewan Orang Ramai Ladang Eldred – which are only open from 8am to 2pm.
https://t.co/eXiciO7662 We are ashamed that the candidate did not read the warta Kerajaan that came out after nomination day or the draft list of polling centre before nomination day. Illiteracy about key government document is a red flag for voters
— Tindak Malaysia (Post GE14) (@TindakV2) March 12, 2022
Checks by The Vibes also revealed that the polling centre at Balai Raya Pulau Besar situated in Mersing was the first to close for the Johor election.
The polling station, which opened at 8am, was closed at 11am as it only had one channel for 34 eligible voters in the Tenggaroh constituency.
Here is the list of polling centres of Bekok where you can see which polling centres close early. This was set in stone for more than a week pic.twitter.com/2tM8sGbq1Q
— Tindak Malaysia (Post GE14) (@TindakV2) March 12, 2022
In a statement on Wednesday, EC secretary Datuk Ikmalrudin Ishak had advised registered voters to cast their ballots according to the time suggested by the commission through the MySPR Semak application.
For voters who could not do so at the recommended time, Ikmalrudin said, they could go to the polls whenever they are free from 8am to 6pm or according to the opening hours of their respective polling centres. – The Vibes, March 12, 2022
