Johor polls: Free buses, extra ETS seats offered for outstation voters

JOHOR BAHRU, July 9 — A non-governmental organisation, Stesen Pemantauan Rakyat, is providing six free buses to transport 240 voters from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore home to cast their ballots in the Johor state election this Saturday.

Its representative, Yong Shui Wen, said the service includes four buses from Kuala Lumpur, while another two will be dedicated to voters from Singapore, picking them up at the Sultan Iskandar Building Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex here.

“These buses will travel to several destinations, including Tangkak, Muar, Batu Pahat, Pekan Nanas, Segamat, Labis, Kluang, Ayer Hitam and Kulai.

“Buses from Kuala Lumpur to Johor will depart at 9pm on Friday. Meanwhile, buses from the BSI CIQ Complex will leave at 9pm on Friday and 9am on Saturday,” he said when contacted by Bernama today.

Yong said the NGO has been running the initiative since 2018 and has received an encouraging response from Johor voters living outside the state, with all available seats filled.

Meanwhile, Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) is doubling seating capacity for its Electric Train Service (ETS) to southern destinations from July 10 to 12 in response to increased demand ahead of the state election.

KTMB Group chief executive officer Datuk Azlan Shah Al Bakri said an additional 7,560 seats have been added for the KL Sentral-JB Sentral-KL Sentral route, bringing total capacity to 15,120 seats.

According to him, 12,769 seats, or 84 per cent of the total capacity for the route, had been sold as of 7.45am today, with only 2,351 seats remaining.

“KTMB has also increased seating capacity for the Gemas-JB Sentral-Gemas route from 630 to 4,410 seats during the same period to facilitate travel for Johor residents heading out to vote.

“As of this morning, 47 per cent or 2,064 seats have been booked, with 2,346 seats still available,” he told Bernama.

Meanwhile, a check on the KTMB Mobile app found that tickets for several peak-hour services this Friday and Saturday were almost sold out, although the public has been advised to continue checking ticket availability from time to time.

A total of 172 candidates are vying for 56 seats in the 16th Johor state election, with 2,727,926 registered voters set to cast their ballots on Saturday.

For the latest updates on the state polls, visit https://prn.bernama.com/johor. — Bernama