The fine weather here this morning is allowing voters in the Sungai Bakap state constituency to come out early to cast their votes.
As of 7 am, some of them have started queuing at their respective polling station to perform their duties even though the polling centres only open at 8 am.
Nine polling stations with 65 voting streams opened simultaneously at 8 am today for the Sungai Bakap state by-election.
Meanwhile, a check by Bernama at the polling station at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bandar Tasek Mutiara in Simpang Ampat, found that a few policemen were on duty at the entrance of the school compound to control traffic.
Also seen are Election Commission (EC) workers helping voters to check their respective voting channels at a special counter set up nearby where there are few wheelchairs available for use by elderly voters and those with health problems.
The first voter to arrive at the polling centre was Mohd Faizul Arifin, 47, of Taman Bandar Tasek Mutiara, which is less than a kilometre away.
‘I came early to avoid the long queue because I plan to go back to my village in Selama, Perak, to handle some family matters. If I can vote early, I can leave early,’ said the man who was formerly a voter in Seri Delima in the Bukit Gelugor parliamentary constituency before moving to Sungai Bakap 10 years ago.
According to the website of the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) today, rain is forecast in some areas in the Seberang Perai Selatan (SPS) district in the morning, while the weather is expected to be fine in the afternoon and night, with temperatures ranging from 27 to 33 degrees Celsius.
The Sungai Bakap state by-election is a straight fight between Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Dr Joohari Ariffin and Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate, Nibong Tebal PAS vice-chief Abidin Ismail.
It is held following the death of incumbent Nor Zamri Latiff due to stomach inflammation last May 24.
In the Penang State Election last August, Nor Zamri, who was also Nibong Tebal PAS chief, defeated P
H candidate Nurhidayah Che Rose with a majority of 1,563 votes.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
