One nomination form taken for Rompin by-election to date

Only one nomination form for the Rompin parliamentary by-election was sold by the Pahang Election Commission (EC) office to date.

Pahang EC Deputy Director (Operations) Mohd Zukri Sidek said they expected more forms would be sold at the last minute before the nomination day on April 22.

However, he declined to disclose the identity of the nomination form buyer or which party the individual was from.

"Until now, all the preparations for the nomination is being carried out and we will open the operations room at the Dewan Jubli Perak Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah in Rompin starting today," he told reporters at the state EC office here, today.

Mohd Zukri said 38 personnel from the state EC would be assigned to ensure the by-election run smoothly while those from EC headquarters and other states would also be assisting in the by-election.

Mohd Zukri said logistics problems were among the challenges faced by EC personnel in this by-election as Rompin parliamentary constituency was bigger in size than Melaka and Negeri Sembilan.

"Rompin covers an area totaling 5,390 sq km, comprising three state seats, namely Bukit Ibam, Muadzam Shah and Tioman, which requires us to cooperate with other government agencies to ensure everything goes well.

"To ease operations in Tioman, we will use ships and boats from the marine police, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and Fisheries Department as well by helicopter, if it is urgently needed," he said.

On land, EC would use the police escort assistance to carry the ballot boxes from several polling centres in Felda Selancar, Rompin which needed between two to three hours to reach the vote tallying centres at the Dewan Jubli Perak Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah, he said.

Based on the EC's electoral roll for the third quarter in 2014, which has been updated until April 10, a total of 53,294 registered voters will vote for the by-election on May 5.

It comprises 19,561 voters in the Bukit Ibam seats, Muadzam Shah (17,394 voters) and Tioman (16,339 voters).

Early voters will consist of 260 policemen and 285 army personnels, who will vote at the early voting centre at the Seri Ibam Hall of the Royal Malaysian Air Force 322 Squadron in Bukit Ibam on April 30.

Another five voters were listed as absentee voters as they were abroad, Mohd Zuhri said.

Meanwhile, a total of 38 schools, including four in Tioman would be used as polling centres, he said.

The Rompin by-election is held, following the death of its incumbent, Tan Sri Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis in a helicopter crash in Semenyih, Selangor, on April 4.

READ ALSO: Rompin by-election to be held on May 5, nomination set for April 22

At the 13th General Election in May 2013, Jamaluddin, who was also 1Malaysia People's Housing (PR1MA) chairman, retained the seat he had held for 23 years, when he defeated former PAS women's wing chief Nuridah Mohd Salleh with a majority of 15,114 votes.