PAKATAN Harapan candidate for the Pulai parliamentary seat, Suhaizan Kayat, has called on voters to cast their ballots early and avoid the wet weather forecast for later in the day.

“I was informed by the police earlier that voting in Pulai is going well and the traffic condition is good,”  the former Johor state assembly speaker said after casting his vote at SK Seri Melati, Taman Melati, Johor Baru, today.

“However, my concern is the weather. The Malaysian Meteorological Department has forecast that it will rain heavily in the evening.

“So I hope the voters in Pulai will come out early and perform their civic duty as there are no obstacles hindering them from doing so.”

Suhaizan was accompanied by his wife, Dr Norsham Idris. They cast their ballot at about 9am.

Suhaizan is in a three-cornered fight against Perikatan Nasional’s Zulkifli Jaafar and Independent candidate Samsudin Mohamad Fauzi.

Cloudy and rainy weather accompanied the electoral process at 61 polling centres during the Pulai parliamentary and Simpang Jeram state by-elections this morning.

The Malaysian Meteorological Department has forecast rain in the morning and thunderstorms in the late evening for both constituencies.

Meanwhile, voters were seen arriving at the polling stations as early as 7am, following the advice from the Election Commission (EC) yesterday to fulfil their responsibilities early due to uncertain weather conditions.

Prior to that, EC officials, security personnel and other staff began gathering at 6am and were briefed on their duties at the polling stations before they opened at 8am.

A total of 3,370 EC officials are on duty, along with 4,000 police officers, to ensure a smooth electoral process.

This includes monitoring and security control at all polling centres, vote tallying centres and surrounding areas as well as ensuring smooth traffic flow.

According to EC, there are 165,509 voters in the Pulai constituency and 48,301 in the Simpang Jeram constituency.

Both by-elections are being held following the death of their incumbent, Salahuddin Ayub, who was also the domestic trade and cost of living minister, on July 23. – September 9, 2023.