GE15 nomination: Aspiring PwD candidate turned away for being late

KUALA LUMPUR: The hope of Habib Bourguiba Abd Hamid who is a person with disabilities (PwD) to contest the Titiwangsa parliamentary seat was shattered when he failed to submit his nomination form after arriving late at the nomination centre.

Dressed in white, Habib Borguiba, 53, came with the aid of a walking stick from Kampung Datuk Keramat to the centre at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Aminuddin Baki at 10.02 am, two minutes after the nomination deadline at 10 am.

"I came out of my house at 8.50 am but could not be punctual due to road closures and traffic congestion in the area and arrived at about 9.50 am.

"As I approached the gate, the returning officer said the time to submit the nomination form was over and I was not allowed in the premises," he told the media when met at the gate of SMK Aminuddin Baki today.

Titiwangsa returning officer Firdzaus Said who came out to meet him said Habib Borguiba was not allowed in after he had announced the submission of nomination forms has ended.

According to him, all candidates were given adequate time from 9 am to 10 am to present their nominations.

"This is a legal question and the consequences are serious if I violate it. I had announced the closure of nomination and this is a stipulated regulation," he said.

After the nomination of candidates for Titiwangsa closed at 10 am, the contest for the seat saw a four-cornered fight involving Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani representing Barisan Nasional (BN), Khalid Abdul Samad of Pakatan Harapan (PH), Dr Rosni Adam from Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan (Pejuang).

-- BERNAMA