KLUANG, Sept 28 — A married couple from Taman Suria who said they have never missed voting were given a posh trip to their polling station for the Mahkota by-election this morning.

Zuriah Saat, 60, and her husband Abdul Aziz Osman, 62, were among the earliest birds to reach Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Seri Perdana here to cast their ballots at about 8am, driven by Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi in a Proton X50, Sinar Harian reported.

"I didn’t expect the menteri besar to come to our house early in the morning to invite my husband and me to the polling station.

"We have never missed fulfilling our duty as voters, even though I am currently unwell,” Zuriah told the Malay newspaper.

She added that the drive has given her and her husband a memory to cherish.

Upon arrival, Zuriah was wheeled to the polling booth by an Election Commission staff in a wheelchair.

Onn Hafiz also shared the moment in a Facebook post today.

"Alhamdulillah. My friends and I have gone out to personally take the voters of the Mahkota constituency to the polling station at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Seri Perdana, Kluang as early as 8am,” he wrote.

Onn Hafiz, who is from Umno, urged all voters to do their duty and cast their ballots today, and prayed for a smooth process.

The voter turnout as at 10am was 16.56 per cent of 66,318 registered voters, the Election Commision reported on its social media accounts.

The Mahkota state by-election was called following the death of its elected representative Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain, 63, on August 2.

Barisan Nasional is fielding its Kluang Umno Youth chief Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah, 40 while Perikatan Nasional (PN) has former Johor footballer Mohamad Haizan Jaafar, 60, as its candidate.

Sharifah Azizah won the seat in the Johor state election in 2022 by a majority of 5,166 votes in a four-cornered fight involving Pakatan Harapan, PN and Warisan candidates.

Mahkota is the fourth by-election held this year.

The first was the Kuala Kubu Baru by-election in Selangor, followed by Sungai Bakap in Penang, and the Nenggiri by-election in Kelantan.