KKB POLLING DAY | It is polling day for the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election, with some 40,226 voters eligible to cast their ballots.
It is a four-way clash involving Pakatan Harapan’s Pang Sock Tao, Perikatan Nasional’s Khairul Azhari Saut, Parti Rakyat Malaysia candidate Hafizah Zainudin, and independent Nyau Ke Xin.
The voters comprise 39,362 ordinary voters, 625 police officers, 238 military personnel and spouses, and one overseas absentee voter.
Voters will be casting their ballots between 8am and 6pm, after which counting will start to determine the next representative for the Selangor state constituency.
Follow our live blog as the Malaysiakini team brings you the news from the ground.
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This concludes the polling process for the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election. The votes are now being tallied.
You can follow the live report on the results here.
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55.79pct voters cast ballot
4pm: Kuala Kubu Baharu, Selangor - The Election Commission records a 55.79 percent voter turnout, with two hours left before the end of polling at 17 polling centres.
Earlier, a polling centre at SJKC Bukit Fraser, with only 40 registered voters, closed at 2pm. The EC in its final update before polling closes also says official results can be expected as early as 9pm.
Ladang Nigel Gardner logs 36.7pct voter turnout
3.45pm: Ladang Nigel Gardner, Selangor - The Nigel Gardner polling district centre is far behind, registering a 36.7 percent voter turnout as of 3pm.
The centre has 850 eligible voters, a majority of whom are Indians.
Since nomination day, Ladang Nigel Gardner has been the centre of attention with the community voicing its dissatisfaction with the construction of housing in five estates.
The estates are Ladang Nigel Gardner, Ladang Bukit Tagar, Ladang Mary and Ladang Sungai Tinggi.
On May 6, Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming announced the construction of housing for 245 settlers from the five estates.
In the last state election, the polling district centre merely recorded a 56.4 percent voter turnout, the lowest among the 18 centres in Kuala Kubu Baharu.
Ampang Pecah voters undeterred by light rain
2.05pm: Ampang Pecah - A light rain is falling on Kuala Kubu Baharu but voters here are undeterred and continue to arrive in numbers.
According to a police officer on duty at the Sekolah Menengah Ampang Pecah voting centre, there are still quite a few voters coming in to cast their ballots.
The officer shares that the turnout for the eighth voting stream, which comprises young voters, is only 50 percent as of 2pm.
The voting centre at the secondary school here has a total of eight voting streams.
74.9pct voter turnout in Pertak
2pm: Pertak, Selangor - Pertak polling district centre records a 74.90 percent turnout as of 1pm - exceeding the average of 39 percent at 16 centres.
The Pertak polling district has 418 eligible voters - many of whom are Orang Asli - who vote at three polling stations, namely SJKC Bukit Fraser, Kampung Gerachi Jaya Kindergarten and Kampung Pertak Children’s Education & Nutrition Centre.
The SJKC Bukit Fraser polling station, which only has 40 voters, closed at 2pm.
12 police reports received since nomination day
1.10pm: Kuala Kubu Baharu - Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain said the police have received 12 reports since nomination day for the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election.
“Since nomination day, there have been a total of 12 reports. We arrested two individuals who campaigned using photos of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the prime minister.
“The rest (of the complaints) are voter-related,” the top cop told reporters after visiting several polling centres in the constituency this morning.
According to him, the police are not investigating claims against Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming about the RM5.2 million allocation announced for Hulu Selangor during the election period.
“That (the probe) is not under us. That is the MACC’s jurisdiction,” he said.
Lively affair outside SRA Bandar Utama Batang Kali
11.30am: Batang Kali - Supporters of Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional are outside SRA Bandar Utama Batang Kali, cheering for their respective candidates.
They are standing on the left and right sides of the entrance to the polling centre and waving flags.
They are shouting the position that their candidates appear on the ballot papers.
When Harapan supporters shout “Number two!”, PN supporters retort: “Number one!”.
Harapan supporters can also be heard chanting “Reformasi, reformasi!”.
However, outside SK Bandar Baru Batang Kali, the surroundings appear relatively quiet.
Compared to the neighbouring SRA Bandar Utama Batang Kali, there are fewer voters at SK Bandar Baru Batang Kali.
PRM candidate expresses 50-50 confidence
11.20am: Batang Kali - Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) candidate Hafizah Zainudin expresses partial confidence in winning the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election.
When asked by the media, she replies, “Confident 50:50… It’s already good enough that many people are coming out to vote.”
She is speaking during a visit to SRA Bandar Utama Batang Kali.
She mentions that she previously visited SMK Ampang Pecah, SJKC Khing Ming, and SMK Kuala Kubu Bharu.
“I see many residents here coming out to vote,” she adds.
Elderly couple travelled 200km to vote
11.15am: Hulu Selangor - A couple in their 60s travelled for nearly 200km today from Kuala Kangsar, Perak, to fulfil their responsibilities as voters for the Kuala Kubu Baharu state by-election.
Private sector retiree Abdul Rahim Bidin, 67, and his wife, Noraini Mansor, 65, started their journey as early as 5am and the journey took them more than two hours to reach the polling station.
“After voting I will drive home… we came down here because voting is our responsibility.
“I would drive back and forth to vote in every election and we have been doing it for the past 10 years,” he said when met by reporters at the SJKC Khing Ming voting centre.
Abdul Rahim, who came to the polling station using a cane, and Noraini, then cast their ballot papers.
- Bernama
20pct voter turnout as of 10.30am
10.50am: Kuala Kubu Baharu - Over 20 percent of voters have come out to cast their ballots as of 10.30am.
Interestingly, the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election sees all four of its candidates being ineligible to vote in this polls.
Pakatan Harapan candidate Pang Sock Tao hails from Ampang, Selangor, while her main contender Perikatan Nasional’s Khairul Azhari Saut, is from the Batang Kali state constituency.
Parti Rakyat Malaysia candidate Hafizah Zainudin is a voter in the Kuang constituency, while independent Nyau Ke Xin hails from Sabak Bernam, which falls under the Sabak state constituency.
PN, Harapan booths assist voters at Batang Kali
10am: Batang Kali - Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional have set up booths outside SRA Bandar Utama Batang Kali to assist voters in checking their information.
The religious primary school has the highest number of voters among the 18 polling centres in the Kuala Kubu Baharu state constituency.
There are a total of eight streams at this polling centre which predominantly consists of Malay voters.
Outside SRA Bandar Utama Batang Kali, there are PN supporters shouting “Number one, number one!” to voters entering the polling centre.
Sluggish start in Hulu Yam Lama
9.40am: Hulu Yam Lama - Numbers are still low at the Hulu Yam Lama polling centre.
An Election Commission officer said only about 100 voters have come out to cast their ballots at SJKC Chong Chee this far.
“It’s still slow here. Only about 100 (voters). But we expect the numbers to go up after 12pm.
“Maybe they are at work and will come out to vote during their break,” the officer said.
A total of 959 voters are eligible to vote at this polling centre.
Seeing double at polling centre
8.50am: Jalan Sekolah - Pakatan Harapan’s Pang Sock Tao, accompanied by her twin sister Pang Sock Ying, visits the polling station at SJKC Khing Ming.
Upon arriving, Sock Tao encounters another pair of twin sisters, Chan Sher Er and Chan Sher Ni, both 25 years old, who are voting for the second time.
Speaking to the media, Sock Tao says, “I feel nervous because today we will decide the future development of SJKC Khing Ming.
“Nevertheless, I hope everyone can come out early to fulfil their civic duty because the weather in the afternoon might be unpredictable.”
Former contender casts his vote
8.30am: Jalan Sekolah - Chng Boon Lai, who previously intended to nominate himself as an independent candidate, has voted at SJKC Khing Ming here.
He planned to run in this by-election, but his nomination application was rejected by the Election Commission as he failed to provide a statement of expenses after running in the state election last year.
Currently, voters can be seen casting their ballots, including some elderly voters who arrived in wheelchairs.
Voting begins
8.15am: Jalan Sekolah - The voting process for the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election has begun.
Election Commission officials are opening the polling stations for voters to enter.
SJKC Khing Ming, which caters to mostly Chinese voters here, is seeing over 20 entering the polling station.
Some voters are leaving the polling station after completing voting.
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