#GE13: Touching Base With The 13th General Election

It’s suffice to say that Malaysians are going all out today to exercise their rights to vote! The Malaysian general election 2013 started from as early as 8am this morning at 8,245 polling centres. According to the Election Commission, as of 12:30pm, nearly 60% with over seven million Malaysians nationwide have casted their ballots.

With a few more hours to go, we thought we’d share some pictures we’ve spotted on both Facebook and on our Twitter timeline:

First picture from top left, clockwise:

Malaysian citizens in Johor queuing in the rain, waiting to vote.
Malaysian citizens in Kuala Lumpur queuing in the afternoon sun.
United Malaysian friends going out to vote together.
Family members heading out together to vote with elderly member in a wheelchair.
A bride voting in her wedding dress.
Family members pushing bedridden member into school compound/polling station.

Wow?

Of course, there were also a few tragic pictures that we happened to chance upon. We’re not sure about the authenticity of one of the pictures considering the fact that it was shared on Facebook. But just in case you haven’t seen it:

Translation: “In Kedah, it was reported that an elderly passed away right after casting his/her vote. May God bless his/her soul. RIP”. The picture looks like it was taken at a polling station and as of time of writing, it has been shared over 2,100 times on Facebook, as well as garnering over 4,000 likes.

If it really is legit then hats off to the deceased, with much love and respect from us!

Meanwhile, most centres will close at 5pm today. A total of 1,900 candidates (579 parliamentary, 1,321 state) will be contesting for 222 parliamentary and 505 state seats. If you haven’t casted your vote, well, what are you waiting for? There’s still time!

To check if you’re registered to vote, go here.

Got interesting pictures to share? Tweet it to us @HypeMY. We’ll love to feature it and credit you for it!

UPDATE:

A 56-year-old man collapsed and died before casting his vote at a polling centre in SJKT Simee, Ipoh. In the 12:15pm incident, the deceased, V. Selvaraju, a diabetic, had complained of breathing difficulties. Hospital attendant, P. Sukumaran, who was working at the polling station as a polling agent, said attempts to revive Selvaraju with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) had failed.

The body was taken to the Forensics Unit in Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital. (Source)

It’s now past 5pm as of time of update! According to the Election Commission, about 80% of 12,992,661 voters turned out for the 13th general election – the highest in Malaysia’s electoral history.

The 13th General Election Results coverage starts from 5pm today on Astro Awani (Channel 501) and 7pm onwards on Astro AEC (Channel 301) and Astro Vaanavil (Channel 201). Catch the LIVE on Astro On-The-Go via online, tablets & smartphones.