KOTA KINABALU, Sept 26 — While most of the electorate came to cast their votes in the 16th Sabah state election in their usual clothes, some showed up in costumes and unusual outfit, bringing smiles and spreading joy at the polling centres.

A voter at SMK Tansau, about 13 kilometres from here, was seen in a white Power Ranger costume complete with a mock sword, according to a posting by the Sabah Information Department Facebook.

A voter was also seen in one of the polling centres wearing a crown and traditional costume of one of the ethnicities in Sabah, while a photo of another voter who showed up to the polling centre in Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Nongkolud, Tuaran riding a modified motorcycle sidecar caught the attention of the netizens.

Meanwhile, Warisan Information Chief contesting in Sindumin Datuk Dr Yusof Yacob was spotted wearing a personal protective equipment (PPE) when casting his vote in Sipitang.

As a precautionary measure to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Health personnel in complete PPE were seen cleaning polling booths from time to time since the polling process began at 7.30am.

Meanwhile, Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the Pitas seat, Sufian Abd Karim announced that he had contracted the Covid-19 virus today.

Through a posting on his Facebook, Suffian apologised to all voters, the BN machinery workers, friends and relatives who have helped him throughout the campaign and asked them to take precautionary measures.

In terms of security, Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hazani Ghazali said the police had turned away more than 100 individuals with dual citizenships attempting to return to Sabah via illegal routes in the country’s waters.

A total of 2,540 channels in 741 polling stations were opened in all 73 state seats to enable Sabahans to elect a new government in the 16th Sabah state election and the voting process, which involved 1,088,711 out of 1,103,646 ordinary voters, was conducted by 17,257 election officials. — Bernama