Pulai, Simpang Jeram by-elections fixed for Sept 9

The Election Commission (EC) has set the polling for the by-elections for the Pulai parliamentary seat and Simpang Jeram state seat in Johor for Sept 9.

EC chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh said the nomination and early voting for the two by-elections were also set for Aug 26 and Sept 5, respectively.

He said this at a press conference after chairing the EC's special meeting on the by-elections in Putrajaya today.

The by-elections are being called due to the unexpected vacancy of the seats following the death of the incumbent, Salahuddin Ayub, on July 23.

Salahuddin, 61, who was the domestic trade and cost of living minister, died at Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Setar, Kedah, a day after undergoing surgery for a brain haemorrhage.

He was 61.

Ghani said the electoral roll to be used for the by-elections is the latest supplementary electoral roll, updated as of July 23.

"The electoral roll for Pulai parliamentary constituency contains the names of 166,653 electors, comprising 165,700 normal electors, 927 police personnel, and 26 who were registered as absentee voters, while the electoral roll for Simpang Jeram state seat contains the names of 40,379 electors, comprising 40,373 normal electors and six absentee voters," he said.

Ghani said the application for all categories of postal and absentee voters will open today.

The deadline for the application is Aug 22 for category 1A (election worker/EC officers/police/military/media personnel); Aug 12 for category 1B (Malaysian citizens abroad); and Aug 15 for category 1C (agency/organisation).

"Applications for postal voting for all those categories will be done online," he said.

Ghani said that Dewan Jubli Intan Sultan Ibrahim will serve as the election nomination centre (PPC) and the official vote tallying centre (PPRU) for the Pulai parliamentary seat and Simpang Jeram state seat by-elections.

He said that the EC had appointed a returning officer with five assistants to oversee the Pulai parliamentary by-election process, while a returning officer with three assistants will be in charge of the Simpang Jeram state seat by-election.

He added that two election campaign enforcement teams (PP-KPR) will be established to monitor campaigning activities throughout the Pulai parliamentary by-election and one PP-KPR for the Simpang Jeram state seat by-election.

The PP-KPR will comprise representatives from the police, local authorities, and representatives of the contesting candidates, he said.

A total of 2,692 personnel will be appointed to handle the Pulai parliamentary by-election process and 678 personnel to handle the Simpang Jeram state seat by-election process.

Ghani said that the Pulai parliamentary by-election will involve 49 voting centres with 297 polling streams – 47 regular voting centres with 294 polling streams – and two early voting centres containing three polling streams.

The Simpang Jeram state seat by-election involves 14 regular voting centres with 68 polling streams and no early voting centre.

Voters can check their polling location and voting channels starting Aug 21 at https://mysprsemak.spr.gov.my, the MySPR Semak application, or the SPR hotline at 03-8892 7018, 7218, or 7124.

Ghani also called on prospective candidates in the two by-elections to fill out the nomination form and do an initial check with the office of the returning officer or the Johor election office before the candidate nomination day to facilitate the candidate nomination process.

"Prospective candidates are encouraged to make deposit payments early in order to ensure that all candidate nomination processes can be completed early and run smoothly," he said.