KOTA SAMARAHAN, Dec 18: They may be vying for the same seat of Stakan, contesting under different parties but in what appeared to be an “unspoken understanding”, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) candidate Datuk Hamzah Brahim and his opponent from the Democratic Action Party (DAP) Leslie Ting Xiang Zhi both visited a polling centre here clad in almost identical outfits!
Clad in white shirts and jeans, the duo “coincided” with each other at 10.30am at the polling centre of
SK Merdang, Kota Samarahan, which caught the attention of many including the media.
The 12.50pm heavy downpour did not dampen the spirits of voters as they arrived in steady streams to cast their votes at the polling centre, a reflection of their eagerness to exercise their rights.
The centre remained opened at press time. However, several centres have been announced closed by 2pm with a turnout of 3,085 registered voters.
As of 3PM, a total of 6,250 voters out of the 12,139 eligible electorate have cast their votes, making the turnout percentage for Stakan a low at 51.49 per cent. This was confirmed by Stakan Returning Officer (RO), Mohammad Nizam Wang.
A survey by TVS at the polling centres found that voters were in compliance with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) set by the Election Commission (EC).
EC officers were at hand to ensure
voters maintained their physical distancing, wore a face mask, scanned their MySejahtera QR code as well as get their temperatures checked.
Those with symptoms or who have a body temperature of above 37.5 degrees will still be allowed to vote in separate tents monitored by health officials. They will then have to undergo further examination.
For the 12th Sarawak State Election, the Stakan seat is seeing a four cornered battle between Hamzah Brahim from Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), George Young Si Ricord Junior from Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB), Leslie Ting Xiang Zhi from Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Atet Dego from Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK). -TVS
