{
  "id": 19934714,
  "title": "Polling station chief nearly bars PH candidate from voting",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/14/polling-station-chief-nearly-bars-ph-candidate-from-voting-19934714",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-14T05:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/11/14/polling-station-chief-nearly-bars-ph-candidate-from-voting"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Jason Tze-Xi Nathan, the candidate in the Pengkalan Batu constituency for PH, was almost denied the opportunity to vote. This dramatic event occurred at the SMK Agama Sultan Muhammad polling station in Batu Berendam. A station chief at the polling center nearly stopped Nathan from casting his ballot due to a false message on WhatsApp. The message claimed that candidates were not allowed to vote, which caused confusion for the station chief. However, after Nathan explained his situation and that he was in a four-way contest, he was eventually permitted to vote. Despite the incident, Nathan did not hold any grudges against the station chief, acknowledging that it was likely his first time in the role and a genuine misunderstanding. The race for the Pengkalan Batu seat is currently being contested by Nathan, Siti Aisyah Mahmood from Barisan Nasional, Norhizam Hassan Baktee from Bersatu, and Goh Han Koon from Bersama.",
  "summary": "EC man was confused by a false message in a WhatsApp group chat stating that contestants are not allowed to vote.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}