JOHOR BARU: A Punjabi family, who originally planned to attend a wedding in Kluang for a number of days, decided to take a break and return to the city in order to cast their votes in the Pulai parliamentary by-election. Lawyer Balbeer Singh Jessy, aged 63, his wife Usha Devi Tara Singh, aged 57, and their daughter Praveen Kaur Jessy, aged 25, all wore their traditional Punjabi attire as they went to the voting center at 8am in SK Nong Chik. “We had to hurry and vote before rushing off to the wedding ceremony in Kluang,” said Balbeer Singh Jessy, adding that the voting process only took about 15 minutes. Balbeer Singh Jessy, who has voted many times before, wanted to ensure that his entire family came back to cast their votes. “I hope that more people will return to vote in these two important by-elections,” he said, mentioning that he had been keeping up with the speeches through social media. When asked if there was anything different during this election, he noticed that there was a lack of young voters when he went to the school in the morning. Balbeer Singh Jessy, a father of four daughters, hoped that the new Member of Parliament in the area would continue to engage with local residents, just like the late Datuk Seri Salehuddin Ayub did. Balbeer Singh Jessy, who also serves as the chairman of the residents committee of Persatuan Penduduk Taman Kolam Air (Febra), said that the main issue in the area was parking along the main road, which caused congestion and made it difficult for residents to move in and out. “The late MP was proactive and even visited our housing area and had a dialogue with the residents last year,” he said, hoping that the Johor Baru City Council would address the parking issue. At 1pm, the election commission reported a voter turnout of 29% for Pulai and 39% for Simpang Jeram. Pulai has a total of 166,653 voters, while Simpang Jeram has 40,488 voters.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
