Melaka polls: Pakatan’s Pengkalan Batu hopeful’s vote paused for two minutes over social media rumour

In a recent development during the Malaysian state election, Pengkalan Batu candidate for Pakatan Harapan Jason Tze-Xi Nathan faced a minor roadblock at his polling station. The issue arose when the presiding officer paused the voting process for approximately two minutes to seek clarification from his superiors regarding whether a candidate was permitted to vote.

The confusion stemmed from a social media group message circulating on the internet that claimed candidates were barred from voting. The presiding officer paused the voting process at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama Sultan Muhammad in Batu Berendam, once he received confirmation from his superiors that it was permissible for Tze-Xi Nathan to cast his ballot.

The incident occurred as Nathan arrived at the polling station at 9am and received his ballot paper. He later reiterates that being a candidate does not negate his right to vote as a registered voter. Tze-Xi Nathan is contesting the Pengkalan Batu constituency against four other candidates - Barisan Nasional candidate Siti Aisyah Mahmood, Parti Bersama Malaysia candidate Goh Han Koon, and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia candidate Datuk Norhizam Hassan Baktee. The constituency has a total of 25,948 registered voters.