Just spoke to a media source just now and he said the crowd last night at Bukit Gantang was closer to 20,000. (My other media contact had said 10,000 while blog reader Gantangian estimated it at 15,000). Whatever, it was a huge turnout. The ceramah was held in a kampong near Bukit Gantang.
The Pakatan candidate is now expected to be revealed only on Thursday, according to my source. PR leaders are probably delaying the announcement after seeing how the BN lured three of their assembly members into jumping ship.
According to my source, the word is that Pakatan is likely to cruise home with a 3,500-5,000 majority (among 55,471 voters), improving on its 1,566-vote margin in GE2008.
BN won the Trong state seat in the Bukit Gantang parliamentary constituency by a 916 vote-majority, but lost the Changkat Jering (by 1,102 votes) and Kuala Sepetang (by 564 votes) state seats to PKR.
Initially, the Malay votes were said to be about evenly split but my media source informs me they are now leaning in favour of Pakatan.
Blog reader, Karma, who accurately read the feeling on the ground during the Permatang Pauh by-election last year, informs us:
The crowd was huge. Really huge. Over 10,000. Malays, Chinese, Indians and Orang Asli thronged the venue.
The police were not harsh, but frendly. Most of them smiled at the people coming to the ceramah. They were just doing their job as ordered. The road-blocks all over did not deter the people from attending the ceramah. A positive sign for PR. If this is an indicator, then PR candidate will win the coming by-election.
For every 10 people I talked to, almost all were not happy with what had happened to Nizar and the PR government. They love Nizar and want him to remain as MB.
Reminds me of the mammoth Pakatan rally at Han Chiang school in Penang on the eve of the general election. I was there and it was an unbelievable experience!
I remember half way though it began raining. No one budged. Umbrellas went up like mushrooms all over the place. I didn’t have one but a stranger beckoned me to join him under his umbrella.
All Malaysians standing as one determined to change history.
I remember Gobind Singh pleading, “Will you give us a chance?”
And a huge roar went up.
May the good people of B.Gantang do what the Penangites did that day. And may Perak see it’s rightful govt returned to power soon.
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It is not boasting to confidently say, having an opponent from UMNO and what they did in Perak State…a win for PR is a forgone conclusion. Perakians only wonder by how big a margin.
If I am a betting man, the margin will be double against the result in GE2008.
UMNO brought this upon themselves, not respecting the State Constitution and abusing the laws of the land. If they dare fall the Tree of Democracy, we will have a change of govt when next GE comes.
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ya thats wat we want hope pray and wish .bukit gantang please do it .kita tolak bn .do it for all of us malaysian yang dahagakan perubahan.
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Careful, as UMNO if full of dirty tricks. Some buffoon called UMNO a clean party…. I almost fell of mychair laughing ! …
They have been doing it for umpteenth of years. So it’s not as clear cut as we would like to think. Vigilance is the key word. A clear majority of a few thousand might be safe, but if it is closer, these votes might swing the battle.
Especially when voter turnout exceeds the 70% mark.
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Najib has only himself to be blamed for what he has done to the Perakians.
This act will haunt him forever as long as he remains as a leader.
The best and honourable thing for him to do in order to save his party from further defeat is to quit as soon as possible.
It’s also the best way to reform his party.
The grass roots of his party must get a group of clean leaders, otherwise there is no hope at all.
But, can they?
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Don forget to check the electoral roll!! Check, check, check!!!
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A bit of advise, if I may, to bro Anil and PR leaders, as your aspirations are to create a Malaysian Malaysia, please avoid quoting races in all your thoughts and communication. Just say Malaysians e.g a crowd of 10,000 Malaysians gathered to listen to the Ceramah. In my opinion this will auger well, people can go on guessing, afterall everybody knows the breakdown of the population and the political alignment and voting trends of today. It’s the vote that counts. Good luck.
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ya thats wat we want hope pray and wish .bukit gantang please do it .kita tolak bn .do it for all of us malaysian yang dahagakan perubahan.
perubahan relatif sifatnya?selama 11 bulan Y.B roslan jadi ahli parlimen, sila nyatakan apakah jasa beliau sehingga melayakkan parti pas yang semi taliban ini memerintah lagi?sila nyatakan hujah hujah yang bernas ditunjangi dengan fakta yang kukuh.hujah yang berbau emosi tidak perlu dalam membicarakan soal pembangunan di bukit gantang.mari kita fokus isu tempatan dahulu.any one?
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Watch-out umno dirt tricks and propaganda. The best time to send a message to the umno that Perakians do not want them.
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UMNO knows they are going to lose big this time and even black magic will not work.People of malaysia in general and Perakians in particular are fed up of UMNO when this party used the dirty trick to usurp the administration of PR government in Perak.
We are waiting for the down fall of UMNO !
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they will throw millions to reduce the majority… if it was a clean election.. Pakatan is already the federal govt…
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Watch-out umno dirt tricks and propaganda. The best time to send a message to the umno that Perakians do not want them.
in politic there is not such as dirty trick and anything also is a propaganda.u just see 1 side of the coin.what do u mean by perakian huh?meaning all the people in bukit gantang?hahahah u make me laugh la.politik sempit just like what dsai like …
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They blamed Badawi for the loss last March and forced him to resign as PM. If BN under Najib’s charge loses big time in the coming 3 by-elections, will he be forced to resign too?
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Great gathering!
But I am somewhat puzzled.
How come S27 of the Police Act was not applied by the PRDM at this “illegal gathering” of the people?
Why no deployment of FRU or tear-gas or water-cannons laced with chemically dyed water?
What were the decisive/differentiating factors in this case that prevented the PRDM from enforcing S27, when S27 has been applied in many other similar gatherings of the people?
Can the IGP please explain the difference in decision criteria used for this policing decision from others in the past where FRU, tear-gas and water-cannons were used liberally against those in the gatherings with brute force and arrest warrants?
Can the Home Minister please explain why S27 of the Police Act was overridden unilaterally by the police, who as we all know, are mere law enforcement personnel of laws that are made by the legislative body of the sovereign People’s in Parliament, and so are clearly not the body who should be making such selective decisions on when to follow or disregard the state’s enacted laws on its current statute book?
And can the AG please explain why the law of the land/the legislative body of the People is being treated so disrespectfully and being allowed to be made into such an ass by the PRDM and the Home Minister?
“Imagine Power To The People” John Lennon.
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When 50,000+ people turned up at Han Chiang school in Penang.
When 20,000+ people turned up in the pouring rain in Lembah Pantai.
When 15,000+ people crowded around in Klang.
When 10,000+ people came to see Lim Kit Siang in Ipoh.
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to mentri pasola, sila hayati ayat quran ini dan fahami maksud ayat ini.
“Wahai Tuhan Yang mempunyai kerajaan, Engkau berikan kerajaan kepada orang yang Engkau kehendaki dan Engkau cabut kerajaan dari orang yang Engkau kehendaki. Engkau muliakan orang yang Engkau kehendaki dan Engkau hinakan orang yang Engkau kehendaki. Ditangan Engkaulah segala kebajikan. Sesungguhnya Engkau Maha Kuasa atas segala sesuatu.” (Ali Imran – 26)
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Watch out for the UMNO goons with their bags of dirty tricks up on their sleeves!
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It is time for not only the people in Perak to speak out and stand up for their rights, unite as malaysian, as one, and vote for change,for the sake of our children and many generations to come. The present system just wont work or unite us as one,MALAYSIANS!
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We all must fight to win for “Democracy” for this by-election.
It’s even more meaningful to win in the SILVER state to proof
to the Self-claimed victors that they are wrong right from the beginning the ways the Silver state being taken over.
No way we can loose, if it does happen and that’s the day
DEMOCRACY die.
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This is the time for Perakians to tell those people their feelings!
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I hope the BN sends Samy Vellu & son Paari, Tajuddin Abdul Rahman, Chua Soi Leck (no need DVD), Sungai Rapat Hamidah, Rafidah Aziz, Ezam (with his six big bags full), Ali Rustam, Khir Toyo, Taib Mahmud, etc to Bulit Gantang. The Pakatan will win with even more votes. With this kind of line-up, BN does not need enemies.
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well done，keep it the semangat of Makka Sathi alive!
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A convincing win for PR will send a strong message … dissolving the Assembly and call for a fresh election for the State?
The State impasse was uncalled and could be easily settled if the Constitution was followed faithfully.
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B Ai has been hujaning with maggi mee so B G , with $$$$$$$$$$$ lah !
my bet is ‘ NIZAR for B G ‘ !!
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The byelection will not b a stroll in the park. You can count on BN to reach deep into its bag of dirty tricks to hit back to PKR. Just watch, already the Indians are split…. and wait when (they) start throwing money around.
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