RECENTLY, a rumour has gone around on social media that people will not be allowed to vote if they do not turn up at the polling centre at the Election Commission’s "encouraged time". Is this rumour true?

Sibu and Lanang incumbents Oscar Ling and Alice Lau have commented on this as they have received numerous calls from voters expressing concern over the matter.

Both have said that the suggested time was implemented previously during the movement control order (MCO) to prevent crowding in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Similarly, this was also shared by journalist Hadi Azmi (@amerhadiazmi).

“The timing is for crowd control. There are 6mil (sic) more voters nationwide this time around,” he explained on Twitter on Thursday (Nov 10).

Twitter user @H_Bakkaniy also said the suggested time for voting was a feature by the EC that had been used in a few state elections.

“The time given is merely a suggestion based on the voter registration numbers. If you come earlier or later than the suggested time, it may cause you to stand in line longer,” they explained.

According to the EC site, the time for voting in Peninsular Malaysia is from 8am to 6pm while for Sabah and Sarawak, the time is from 7.30am to 5.30pm.