Loke upbeat over sold-out transport tickets to Johor; EC expects 70pct turnout

 

State polls

• Transport Minister Anthony Loke said all public transport tickets from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to Johor have sold out ahead of polling day.

  Speaking at a press conference in Seremban, the DAP secretary-general said he hoped this would translate into a high voter turnout.

  “This is a good sign that people are enthusiastic about coming back to vote,” he said.

• At the same press conference, Loke introduced DAP’s new candidate for the Seremban Jaya state seat in the upcoming Negeri Sembilan election.

  Engineer Mugunthan Subramaniam, 42, will be replacing incumbent assemblyperson Gunasekaren Palasamy, Loke confirmed.

  “He has been involved in party activities for 14 years, and for the last few years, he has been a researcher for state exco Arul Kumar Jambunathan,” the Seremban MP said.

• The Election Commission expects voter turnout for tomorrow’s Johor election to reach around 70 percent, adding that the projection was based on the response during the campaign period.

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  EC chairperson Ramlan Harun, meanwhile, also reminded the public that some polling centres would close early.

  

  Election Commission chairperson Ramlan Harun

  “Some will close at 11am, with the earliest being on Pulau Besar, which is about half an hour from Mersing. At noon, there are two locations, namely Pulau Aur and Pulau Pemanggil.

  “There are 17 centres that will close at 2pm, 42 centres at 4pm, and 1,114 centres at 6pm tomorrow,” Bernama reported him as saying.

Islamic affairs

• The Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) said its approval for Friday prayers at the surau in IOI Mall Putrajaya is temporary, citing the mall’s large Muslim workforce and its distance from the nearest mosques, which are already overcrowded.

  “The approval will cease once a new mosque is built near the premises and can accommodate the needs of worshippers, including employees at the mall, to perform Friday prayers,” Mais said.

  The statement was to clarify a notice Mais issued on Wednesday, where it said the Selangor ruler did not consent for Friday prayers to be held at any surau in shopping centres in the state.

Socso scheme

• The Union Network International - Malaysia Labour Centre (UNI-MLC) criticised the government’s decision to make the Social Security Organisation (Socso)’s Lindung 24 Jam scheme voluntary, saying it weakens worker protections and public confidence.

  “A truly developed nation is a country that protects its workers, not reduce their rights.

  “UNI-MLC will continue to defend the implementation of the scheme and reject any effort to undermine protection for workers,” said the group’s president Shafie BP Mammal.

Jana Wibawa case

• The Kuala Lumpur High Court today vacated the hearing of former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s Jana Wibawa corruption trial after he returned to Johor to attend his brother-in-law’s funeral.

  According to Bernama, defence counsel Amer Hamzah Arshad informed judge Noor Ruwena Nurdin of the matter, with the trial set to resume on July 13.

  The defence was scheduled to cross-examine the 13th prosecution witness, Nepturis Sdn Bhd director Aliza Abd Malek. - Mkini