Polls: Mahfuz arrives late to vote

ALOR SETAR - Alor Mengkudu state seat Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Datuk Mahfuz Omar became among the last candidate casting a vote for the Kedah state election on Saturday.

Mahfuz who was the Kedah PH chairman arrived at Kolej Tingkatan Enam Sultan Sallehuddin in Hutan Kampung, here, at 2pm to perform his responsibilities as a voter.

Mahfuz informed he voted much later because he wanted to observe the voting process in the Alor Mengkudu state assembly beforehand.

"I took the liberty to tour around some of the polling centres in Alor Mengkudu state assembly as this time I contested out of the usual area.

"Previously I contested in Pokok Sena hence the reason I am voting here (Kolej Tingkatan Enam Sultan Sallehuddin) before leaving to go to areas where votes were casted," he said.

Speaking to reporters at the Kolej Tingkatan Enam Sultan Sallehuddin, here, on Saturday, Mahfuz said he found the voting process going smoothly with some voters in Alor Mengkudu state assembly fulfilling their duties.

However he said a portion of voters in the area for the morning session was reportedly low.

"(To) my observations as a whole the voting process was slow for voters going out but when I am here, I saw that it started increasing in the evening. Maybe a portion of voters decided to vote in the evening.

"I made such decisions to go vote in the evening, expecting that not much voters would be around. However, it was slow this morning," he said.

He urged the public to vote and perform their responsibilities.

"Whoever our choice is, which party we choose, which candidate we choose are set. However, don't simply abandon our responsibilities as voters," he said.

Mahfuz said he was confident that 17 Kedah state seats were already sealed based on momentum of support and their efforts.

"Previously I stated 16 seats (but), as of yesterday it became 17 seats, it increased by one seat. Only two seats were left for us to achieve a simple majority.

"I hope the last touch we made in the Grand Finale at Naka, Hutan Kampung (and) then in Sungai Petani involving the prime minister would give a clear message to voters," he said.

The Amanah deputy president with his wife and two children Mujaheed, 39 and Syahiida, 36 voted in the same area.

The Alor Mengkudu seat witnessed a clash between Mahfuz and legendary Hijau Kuning football player Radhi Mat Din.