GE15: Voters okay with polling date
NURUL AISYAH MOHD NOR
SHAH ALAM – After the date of the 15th General Election (GE15) was announced earlier today, many voters have expressed that they will go out to vote although the date clashes with important dates for them.
Bride-to-be Siti Aishah Azhar found herself in an unexpected situation when the voting date clashed with her wedding date.
She said at first she was worried as all preparations for the wedding have been made.
However, as a Malaysian citizen, she said she was aware that exercising the right to vote was important.
"At first, I was worried about the date because all of the preparations had already been made, including catering, makeup, and photography and the invitation cards have been sent out.
"The future groom is from Perak, so it is a bit difficult for his family to juggle the time between voting and attending the ceremony since the wedding venue is about three hours away."
"However, I believe we would be able to fulfil our responsibility and spend a bit of time to go out to vote in between our ceremony," she said.
Although she was unable to postpone the wedding, she said she believed that her responsibility as a Malaysian should be carried out in any way possible.---
For first-time voter Bibi Syarifa Dalila Norazlan, there was no reason not to go out and vote as the polling day fell on a Saturday.
"I think the voting date (Nov 19), which is on a Saturday is appropriate because it is a public break for all states in Malaysia, even though several states begin their weekend break on Friday,” she told Sinar Daily.
Bibi Syarifa said early preparations could still be made for some voters in planning their journey to their respective states.
Meanwhile, prices of air fares were rising since the polling date was announced.
A twitter user, @haaneyss said there was a price hike in flight tickets just minutes after the announcement today.
"Last night, I checked air fares to Kuching, Sarawak, and the one-way fare was only RM85. However, a few minutes after the polling date is announced, the price jumped to RM235 for a one-way ticket,” she wrote.
Earlier, the Election Commission (EC) announced that polling for GE15 will be held on Nov 19, which is a Saturday.
Meanwhile, the nomination date falls on Nov 5 and early voting has been fixed on Nov 15.
