Kemaman by-election: Relief centres to be used as polling stations in case of floods

CHUKAI: Temporary relief centres will be turned into voting centres if there are floods during the Kemaman by-election (PRK) polling day on Dec 2.

Terengganu police chief Datuk Mazli Mazlan said his team is prepared, in terms of personnel strength and assets, to ensure the voting process on Dec 2 runs smoothly.

"If there are floods on voting day, then we have already agreed with the Election Commission (EC) that there will be relief centres that will be used as polling centres and we have arranged for the manpower and assets to ensure that the voting process goes smoothly.

"In Kemaman, you expect floods to occur, but nothing happens. So, we are hoping that there will be no floods on polling day. Anyway, if there is flooding, we are prepared," he told a press conference here today.

Earlier, Mazli monitored the postal voting process by officers and members of the Royal Malaysia Police as well as military personnel at the Kemaman district police headquarters (IPD) today.

The Kemaman by-election will see Barisan Nasional candidate Gen (Rtd) Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor battle it out in a straight fight against Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, representing PAS.

Regarding today's voting process, Mazli said it involved 342 police and three military personnel who exercised their voting rights at two locations - the Kemaman IPD and Pasir Gajah police station.

"Alhamdulillah, everything went smoothly today. PDRM took the approach of registering all its voters in Kemaman for postal voting... This is because if the PDRM personnel opt for early voting (on Nov 28), and there is a flood, we will face difficulties in carrying out the tasks of rescuing flood victims," he said.

Asked if any police reports were lodged during campaigning for the Kemaman by-election, Mazli said they did not receive any.

"There are no police reports, so this means both sides are still complying with all the rules and laws during this campaigning period," he added.

-- BERNAMA