The country’s oldest aspiring parliamentarian Maimun Yusuf had a rude shock this morning when she was prevented from voting.

Th 89-year-old grandmother who is vying for the Kuala Terengganu seat has become a media darling, with journalists tracking her every move.

Maimun Yusof nenek calon bebas 04According to thestar online, Maimun was tailed from her house by the media to the SK Gong Kapas school where she had planned to cast her ballot.

There was a commotion when Maimun, whose reason for contesting is to prevent Terengganu from falling into the hands of foreigners, was told that she could not vote.

This was despite being given a polling room number ticket after the Election Commission (EC) officers verified her MyKad number at the polling station’s registration counter.

According to the report, Maimun appeared distraught but remained adamant and demanded an explanation from the EC officers.

The grandmother argued that she had cast her vote at the same premises in the 2004 general election.

Maimun also had a group of supporters who gathered around her and lobbied for her right to vote.

Following this, an EC officer explained that her name was listed in a different polling centre - the SK Sultan Sulaiman 1.

Relieved, the grandmother and her supporters proceeded to the venue and cast her vote at about 10am.

"After more than two decades, I have finally made it as a candidate on my fifth attempt and I can vote for myself," she was quoted as saying.

Voter collapses

In Kuala Lumpur, Bernama reported that a voter queuing to cast his vote at the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Taman Setiawangsa polling centre caused a stir when he collapsed, believed to be due to a heart attack.

Even though in pain, Ahmad Kamal,65, was determined to go ahead to exercise his right as a voter despite election workers and voters, who went to his aid, coaxing him to leave and seek treatment.

The incident happened in front of the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for Setiawangsa, Zulhasnan Rafique, who then instructed his party workers to send Ahmad Kamal to a hospital nearby.

Zulhasnan, who was accompanied by his wife, Siti Nooriah Ana Razak and their three children, arrived at the school at 8.55am to cast his vote.

Met by reporters later, Zulhasnan said polling in the constituency was progressing smoothly and he hoped voters would come out in full force to exercise their rights and increase the voter turnout.

Zulhasnan, who is federal territories minister, is in a straight fight with PKR candidate Ibrahim Yaacob. There are 57,161 voters in the Setiawangsa parliamentary constituency.