Rantau: Tok Mat hopes to continue serving constituency

REMBAU: The look of relief was apparent on Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan's face the moment after he cast his ballot at SJKC Chung Hua here, today.

The Umno deputy president, who is contesting on a Barisan Nasional (BN) ticket for the Rantau state seat by-election, arrived at the polling centre at 8.26am, accompanied by his wife and five children.

Asked about how he felt after casting his vote, Mohamad, also known as Tok Mat, jokingly said: "I want to express my feelings for you – but it's too late."

His reply was greeted with laughter and cheers from members of the press who had gathered as early as 7am for a glimpse of the former Negri Sembilan menteri besar.

Mohamad's light mood could be attributed to the high number of constituents who had swarmed the polling centre early in the morning to exercise their right to vote.

Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan with the voters at SJKC Chung Hua.  NSTP/IQMAL HAQIM ROSMAN
Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan with the voters at SJKC Chung Hua. NSTP/IQMAL HAQIM ROSMAN

"My wife and kids are here with me, so I have extra votes today.

"The body language shown by the voters, too, seems to be very positive and I hope it will be translated at the voting box. I hope I will be given another chance to serve for the people here," he said.

On the ongoing polling process, Mohamad said he is satisfied with the smooth development, which he said is an improvement over previous polls.

"I want to congratulate the Election Commission (EC) for upgrading and improving the system, following suggestions made by us after the 14th general election (GE14).

"Streams 1 and 2 now are located in the hall, which is more convenient for senior citizen voters, unlike in GE14, when the streams were located on the first floor.

"The flow is much better this time around – voters need only take the paper and cast their votes without having to wait long," he said.

The by-election was called after the Federal Court dismissed an appeal filed by Mohamad to set aside an Election Court decision to declare his victory in the GE14 null and void.

Mohamad had won the seat uncontested in May 2018 after Pakatan Harapan candidate Dr S Streram was unable to submit his nomination papers after being denied entry into the nomination centre for not having a pass issued by the EC.

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