Commotion in Slim as voters in shorts not allowed into centre

A voter in shorts, identified as Yong, was first turned away and then allowed to cast his ballot at SK Aminuddin Baki in Slim.

SLIM: Voting in the Slim by-election today saw some commotion after several people turned up in shorts and were not allowed into the voting centre.

This took place at the SK Aminuddin Baki voting centre here, with several individuals seen tearing their voter information card given by the Election Commission (EC) out of anger.

“We had voted nine times before this and were never stopped from voting. This time, we’re not allowed in because we’re wearing shorts, but we’ve worn shorts before this and were allowed in.

“If this is how it is, I don’t want to vote,” said a senior citizen, who only wanted to be known as Yong, while leaving the centre.

Another voter in shorts arrives at the voting centre at SK Aminuddin Baki in Slim.

Another individual, who wished to remain anonymous, also voiced his disappointment for not being allowed to vote, also for wearing short pants.

“I wanted to go to work, so I came early to vote. But now I’m not allowed in,” said the voter, who had been lining up since 7am.

A party agent voiced disappointment in the officers’ decision to stop these voters from entering the centre, claiming that nearly 10 voters had left after they were turned away.

Early birds line up to vote in the Slim by-election this morning.

“They’re angry because they can’t go in to vote. Before this, they could but today they can’t. Pity them,” said the agent.

Meanwhile, several party agents went looking for these voters and tried to persuade them to go back to their centres to vote.

After being persuaded, some of them returned and were allowed entry, while there were some who came back in long plants to cast their ballots.

A voter marks his ballot in the Slim by-election.

An EC officer told reporters there was a misunderstanding and that his officers had sought to rectify the matter.

Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob later said there was no SOP against wearing short pants by the National Security Council, telling reporters this came under the purview of the EC.

There are 23,094 registered voters in the Slim state constituency. The by-election sees a three-cornered fight among Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Mohd Zaidi Aziz and independent candidates Amir Khusyairi Mohamad Tanusi and Santhara Sekaran Subramaniam. - FMT