Voters at SK getting their ID check on the electoral roll before proceeding to cast their ballots.
KUCHING: Despite the ‘8am shotgun start’ for voters stirring from slumber, the stream of citizens to cast their vote in the 11th state election yesterday was not without its hilarious moments, mixed with zany reactions on social media.
Polling day opened at 8am sharp across the vast state but many of the 1,754 polling centres saw a slow turnout which only rose with the sun under largely overcast skies for May 7 the ‘Mother of all Days’ for Sarawakians.
The Borneo Post compiled some of the more memorable moments on the ground and online throughout the day.
Sarawakians are really a colourful lot because it cannot be denied that these stories can be amusing, sometimes just plain odd, maybe offensive, or grotesque or just another head-scratching moment.
There was some confusion at SMK Datuk Patinggi Haji Abdul Gapor polling centre in Stampin here, when a voter – who was unaware of the procedure – got agitated after his name was read aloud inside the polling booth before he was given a voting slip.
A voter, who was in line to cast her vote, overheard the incident after the agitated person started complaining that voting should be anonymous and private.
The situation delayed the voting process in the voting channel for about 10 minutes as poll officers and police officers grappled with the flap and explained the process to the disgruntled voter.
There was some confusion also at SJK Chung Hua Stapok as some voters discovered that they were supposed to vote at SK Stapok instead of here.
The SPR workers were doing their best to patiently explain to the affected voters where to go to cast their votes.
At SK Lumba Kuda, a voter said she saw a lady given a tongue-lashing by her husband for stamping the ballot with her inked finger instead of marking ‘X’ in the box.
Voters also took to social media, with many showing off their freshly inked fingers after exercising their right to chart the destiny of the state.
As much as voters were overjoyed to participate in the election, they were later horrified to learn that the indelible ink used this year is ‘really, really indelible’ unlike in the last general election which was easily washed off, an inky stain strong enough to make it the envy of squids, octopus or cuttlefish.
One grotesque remark said the marking turned a deep gross dark, making the finger look like ‘decomposed meat’ after being infected from a zombie bite!
And then there were the myth busters who shared photos with their stained fingers in the nostril – to debunk a funny photo circulated online about nose-picking after voting.
Not forgetting, the ‘Snow Whites’ with sensitive skin who gave their finger to ‘toxic ink’, making the skin dry out and crack the longer the indelible ink sat on the skin.
Many voters tried brainwaves to get rid of the marking using wet wipes, nail polish remover, oil, lotion and even ‘Minyak Angin Cap Kapak’ but it was incredibly stubborn and refused to be removed.
On the bleak side, some voters took to social media to shame Barisan Nasional (BN) and question fairness of the election process after some claimed receiving handouts containing ‘a little token of appreciation’ after casting their votes.
Then there were many who shared an SMS wooing them to vote for certain candidate and party on election day, which is a blatant violation of election silence – a blackout period to maintain a free voting environment.
Nonetheless, ugly or cute, whether voters felt negative or positive about this polls, election fever is finally subsiding and the last 24 hours have been fantastic so now let’s go out and celebrate Mother’s Day – it’s May 8.
A photo collage of voters who posted their inked fingers on social media after voting.