Home Minister confirms Sabah state election campaign concluded without major incidents, with 10,000 police personnel ensuring polling day security.
KOTA SAMARAHAN: The campaign period of the 17th Sabah state election which ended at midnight last night proceeded without any untoward incident, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
He said the security situation was reported to be under control, thus ensuring that the democratic process in the state was running smoothly.
“The Royal Malaysia Police have received several reports related to the campaign, including incidents of taking down party symbols and complaints about speeches during political talks.
“However, the number of reports is small and all are being investigated according to the relevant sections and acts,” he told reporters when met at the handover ceremony of the Registrar of Societies Malaysia’s 2025 MADANI Adopted Village Project in Kampung Sindang Baru, here today.
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Also present were Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mohamad Zainal Abdullah, director-general of the Registrar of Societies Malaysia Datuk Mohd Zulfikar Ahmad and Sarawak State Development Office director Datuk Jasni Jubli.
He said to ensure the safety of voters and the smooth running of the overall operation, a total of 10,000 police personnel were deployed throughout Sabah on polling day today.
According to Saifuddin, the security assessment showed that this number was needed to manage control throughout the voting hours from 8 am to 5 pm.
“The current strength of the Sabah police contingent is around 9,000 personnel, and to meet additional operational needs, assistance was mobilised from Sarawak,” he said.
Overall, he said the election process in Sabah was conducted in a peaceful, orderly and hassle-free atmosphere, while the police continued to closely monitor any complaints received throughout the campaign period.
Regarding the Kampung Angkat MADANI project, he said a total of 12 programmes had been successfully implemented involving an expenditure of RM12 million.
“No projects were abandoned and all were completed within the period set by the budget, which was RM1 million for each programme.
The Kampung Angkat MADANI programme is an initiative of the Malaysian government to bridge the development gap between urban and rural areas, was announced in Budget 2024. – Bernama
