Saturday, March 12, 2022

Muted atmosphere at SMK Sri Muar



Muted atmosphere at SMK Sri Muar, with few youth voters


Muhyiddin Yassin at the SMK Sri Muar polling centre with his wife this morning.


MUAR: The SMK Sri Muar polling centre was a beehive of activity when former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin and his wife, Noorainee Abd Rahman arrived to cast their votes for the Gambir seat this morning.

But a hush fell over the polling centre soon after the Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman left, with just a handful of young voters going in to cast their ballots.

At 10am, there were only about 40 people waiting to vote, with only a few of them being youths.

Police personnel and Election Commission (EC) officers continued to keep a close watch over SOPs, despite the dull atmosphere at the school.

Just about 100 metres away from the polling centre, a small group of PN supporters gathered and held up banners that said “Abah Prihatin Demi Bangsa Johor” (Abah cares for Johoreans), in reference to Muhyiddin’s now-famous nickname.


A small group of Perikatan Nasional supporters holding up banners in support of PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin about 100m from the polling centre.


However, the group of eight supporters did little to lift the dull atmosphere at the polling station.

One supporter, Hasnah Hassan, told FMT that voter turnout seemed rather low so far, but hoped that the momentum would pick up by noon. She added that the group planned to stay there to encourage voters until the polling station closes.

Earlier, after casting his ballot, Muhyiddin said there was a “very good” sign that many in Muar would be turning up to vote today, citing apparent traffic jams on the highways last night.

“Based on my observations visiting various parts of Johor, I see a very encouraging trend. There was spirited response to the campaign that I had led, and keen interest in PN from Johoreans,” he told reporters.

He hoped that voter turnout would reach 70% to 80% and in PN’s favour, but maintained that he would respect whatever decision the voters make.

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