MEMBAKUT: Eight out of nine early registered voters had cast their ballots in the Kimanis parliamentary by-election as of 9.30am today.
The process kicked-off at 8am at the Membakut police station here, which saw the first voter, a retired policeman, exercising his civic right at 8.30am.
Present were Election Commission (EC) secretary Datuk Mohamed Elias Abu Bakar and Beaufort police chief Deputy Superintendent Azmir Abd Razak.
On a separate matter, Azmir said that as of today, 11 police reports had been lodged during the campaign period.
"The reports include the organisation of the New Year and Christmas celebration, counter-reports on said celebration, and offensive buntings.
"Six investigation papers were opened for those reports on election offences under the Elections Offences Act 1954 and Communications and Multimedia Act (1998) and the Penal Code" he said, adding that both party supporters are advised to maintain order by not provoking each other through any means.
Last night, Chief Minister and Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal urged Kimanis constituents to cast their vote wisely and not to be influenced by baseless accusations thrown against Warisan, especially on social media.
"This is not about choosing a YB, but a representative of the Kimanis people in Parliament. We want the by-election wave (of victory) to reach the whole nation and send a message to the opposition.
"The people of Sabah can no longer be played by BN (Barisan Nasional) and Umno leaders, because the people decide who to represent them," he said at the Himpunan Anak Muda Kimanis at Pekan Bongawan.
"How can they safeguard Malaysians, when they don’t even recognise Malaysians as Malaysians," said Shafie, referring to Umno leaders who brought up racial issues during the campaign, and making the remark that Warisan is a Filipino party.
Meanwhile, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) Armada chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman called on the youth to throw their support behind the Warisan candidate, adding that the people need a leader with integrity.
"We want a leader who is afraid of the people, and not Bossku Najib. Sabah is an exemplary state for Malaysia, because of its unity. In the previous general election, the wave of youth (votes) managed to bring BN down.
"If the youth can do it, then surely they can do it (in Kimanis). In politics, the youth need to go forward so the government will give its attention to young people," he said.
The by-election is being held after the Federal Court, on Dec 1, upheld the Special Election Court's decision in August last year, nullifying former Umno leader Datuk Seri Anifah Aman's victory in the 14th general election.
Anifah, who is now an independent, retained his seat with a 56-vote majority, securing 11,942 votes against Warisan's candidate Datuk Karim Bujang's 11,786 votes. Another candidate, Jaafar Ismail of Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah, obtained 1,300 votes.
The by-election is a straight fight between Karim and BN's candidate Datuk Mohamad Alamin.
Polling day is fixed for this Saturday, and ballot counting will take place at Dewan Datuk Seri Panglima Mohd Dun Banir in Beaufort.