DESPITE knowing that the Port Dickson by-election was engineered, several young outstation voters returned to their hometown today to fulfil their responsibilities to cast their ballot.

One of them was Nic Ngoo who returned home to vote for the first time, adding the timing of this by-election was “strange”.

“This election is not caused by an act of nature like death, rather, it was engineered.” Nic said.

Local voter Vimal Kumar who returned from Kuala Lumpur also agreed with Nic.

“It’s not nice to feel like a pawn in someone’s political career,” Vimal said.

“In spite of that, we have a responsibility to come and vote.”

Childhood friends Nic, Vimal and Navin Raj explained that their concerns for their hometown were more crucial than the motive behind the by-election.

“We were in Port Dickson for a very long time. We grew up here.

“Regardless of race or religion, it’s a closely knit community, so there is need for progress,” said Vimal.

Nic’s parents are still in Port Dickson and he wants to see the place developed.

“Even though this by-election has some drama, but it gives a chance for a potential prime minister like Anwar Ibrahim to lead our town,” said Nic who just returned from the United States.

The development they referred to differed from what by-election candidates had discussed on campaign trails citing expansion to the town’s infrastructure.

“I don’t agree with how candidates believe Port Dickson can become a city, and I don’t think that’s right,” said Vimal.

“The candidate that gets elected shouldn’t only have a development outlook. This is the right thing to do, and it does not necessarily mean build new buildings.

“Port Dickson is known to be a destination for people to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Let’s not see it turn into a concrete jungle.”

The Port Dickson parliamentary seat was vacated by former MP Danyal Balagopal Abdullah to allow Anwar to contest and return to Parliament.

Anwar is up against five independent candidates – Saiful Bukhari, Isa Samad, Lau Seck Yan, Stevie Chan and Kan Chee Yuen – and air force veteran Nazari Mokhtar of PAS.

Polling centres opened at 8am and will close at 5.30pm.

As of 4pm, the voter turnout rate was at 54%, meaning that 37,606 voters have cast their ballots. – October 13, 2018.