THE Penang state election is in full swing, with caretaker Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow among the earliest voters to cast his vote at SJKC Hu Yew Seah at about 8.05am here today.
After casting his vote, the Padang Kota candidate went to several polling centres to check on their operations.
Padang Kota is one of the 40 state seats in Penang.
The first voting centre he visited was SK Convent (Light Street), followed by SK Hutchings (Lebuh Farquhar), SMK St Xavier (Lebuh Farquhar), SJKC Shih Chung,(Love Lane) and SJKC Aik Hua (Muntri Street).
As all these centres are nearby, Chow walked from one school to another.
He also took a short break to have breakfast at Coffee 45 Cafe in Love Lane.
Chow then travelled to SK Perempuan Island (Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah), SK Wellesley (Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah), SK Sri Tanjong (Hutton Lane), SJKC Union (Jalan Burma) and finally SK Perempuan Methodist (Anson Road).
At SK Perempuan Island, as of 10.40am, it is understood that only 150 voters have turned out to cast their votes out of the total 632 eligible constituents there.
When asked to comment, Chow said despite the relatively low turnout in the morning, he said the voters were gradually walking in to cast their ballots.
“If we can achieve 70% (voter turnout) by the time the polling ends, there won’t be much difference from what we have achieved last year during the 15th General Election,” Chow said.
He also stated that polling centres with more ballot boxes were crowded; while minimal voting lanes at the centres in the Padang Kota constituency resulted in lesser people.
Everywhere he went, Chow was warmly received by the security personnel, voting centre officials, including supervisors and clerks, voters and the general public.
The affable man that he is, he always obliges by having photos taken with them.