Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has asked the people of Sarawak not to listen to rumours that the Opposition has won today's state polls.

Muhyiddin said the rumours spread on the Internet were not true as voting would only be over at 5pm.

"There are rumours going around that Sarawak Barisan Nasional has lost and that the opposition will take over the state government.

"This is a lie... voting is still going on...votes have yet to be counted," he told a press conference at the Sarawak police headquarters in Kuching.

NONE Instead, Muhyiddin said, he had received information that Opposition leader and PKR advisor Anwar Ibrahim (left) had left Sarawak to either London or the United States.

"If he has won, obviously he will be around until the end (of polling day). Why has he left Sarawak so early.

"Anwar has delegated his duties to his polling chiefs purportedly because he is afraid something might happen," he said, adding that the rumours were the work of "desperate people".

"We have two more hours to go (before polling ends)... I urge the people not to be influenced by these rumours," he said.

In a related development, the Election Commission has advised voters not to be influenced by results for certain constituencies that have been posted on websites and sent via SMS since noon.

Only information from EC is valid

EC chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof reminded them that only results from the commission were official, conveyed by the 71 returning officers.

"I am told that results were being sent via SMS and posted on the Internet, claiming victory for certain parties in certain areas.

NONE "This information cannot be trusted. Only information from EC sources is valid," he told reporters in Kuching.

As of 1pm, Abdul Aziz (left) said, 1,038 or nearly two-thirds of polling stations have been closed, most of them in interior and rural areas.

Although these polling stations had been closed, some of them as early as 9am, the counting of votes could only  start at 12.30pm, he said.

Abdul Aziz was certain that the turnout would exceed 50 per cent in the afternoon.

"Up to 1pm, I received information from 11 (of ther 71) constituencies that 43 per cent of voters have cast their ballot. This means 10 per cent of the electorate of each area voting every hour," he said.

- Bernama