Good news. Aliran Monthly is releasing its latest cover story online in time for the by-elections. The lead story puts the spotlight on Batang Ai.
Agi idup, agi ngelaban? Will the River burst the Dam?Why don’t you subscribe to the magazine? Click here.
And here are a couple of stories I wrote:
A referendum on the Perak power grab MIC’s future hangs in the balance And this is a must-read on the distribution of ASB shares: Did you know…?The people here until now seem to favour Pakatan candidate more. Eight out of 10 people talked to wanted Nizar to win. Nizar is a very popular personality here. He is popular among all races. Not much has been mentioned about the BN candidate. Towering Nizar has overshadowed him. The racial card played by some campaigners here did not favour many residents in this constituency. They felt its the same old story used only to get votes. A man in his 30s said, “Kita tetap miskin. Tengok apa yang dibuat mereka. Tengok mereka berkereta besar, berpakaian hebat. Tengok kami; tengok rumah kami; tengok anak-anak kami. Miskin dari dulu sampai sekarang.”
In this spirit, I would like to announce that the government has decided with immediate effect, to remove the temporary ban on TWO news publications, release 13 detainees from ISA detention, and conduct a comprehensive review of the Internal Security Act. Additional details will be announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs shortly.Well, not quite a surprise.
Akan ada kejutan besar esok- Saifuddin Friday, 3 April 2009 • Kategori: Berita Semasa, Berita Utama, Parlimen Oleh: Rusnizam Mahat. KUALA LUMPUR, 3 APRIL (SK) – PENGARAH Strategi keADIlan, Saifuddin Nasution berkata satu kejutan besar akan berlaku esok yang bakal menyaksikan impak besar kepada tiga pilihanraya kecil di Dun Bukit Selambau, parlimen Bukit Gantang dan Dun Batang Ai.
On the ground it’s all out for PR. We see people of all races helping PR candidate win the election. This is history. Pas is giving undivided support to ensure victory for PR candidate. Malays, Chinese and Indians are carrying flags in support of Manikumar. Seemingly, all races are seen united for a common cause. When asked a Malay shopkeeper he said, “Kita tak kisah Melayu, India atau Cina. Kita mahu keadilan untuk semua. MB kami orang baik. Calon PR pun orang baik.” Looks like the independents are not getting much support. An Indian professional quipped in Malay, “Kacau punya orang. Kita mahu satu orang saja. Ini Mani (Manikumar) baik punya orang. Kita mahu dia dalam kerajaan.” Unfortunately, BN candidate is not getting much support. Out of 10 people interviewed, eight were not happy with him winning the by-election. Neither are BN component parties aggressively campaiging for him. In contrast, PKR supporters are seen all out to ensure a big win for its candidate.1743: Is it just me or are you all also experiencing slow Internet downloading speeds? 1738: Among the independent candidates, insurance agency owner T Chandrarajan appears to be the most visible in the poster war. He was also featured in an NST “online exclusive” interview. While I was in town, I noticed quite a few of his campaign workers plastering his posters with the aeroplane logo all over the place. But my contact tells me it is R Loganathan who commands a sizeable following among the independents.
Making sure the message gets across in Batang Ai – Photos by a Sarawakian
Scene from Lubok Antu
In Batang Ai and Lubok Antu, oil palm plantations are mainly under Salcra (which is Sarawak’s equivalent to Felcra, except that its record is poorer).
For an analysis of the low dividends paid to the participants of Salcra’s oil palm land development schemes, go here. 
A rustic scene from Bukit Gantang – Photo by Jong
Many expect Pakatan to easily win Bukit Gantang. But Pakatan campaigners, it would seem, are worried about over-confidence leading to complacency.
Wong Kah Woh reports from Ipoh in his blog:
I was at Simpang PR-DAP ceramah yesterday with 300 people attending. The atmosphere is worrying in the sense that the public are too confident of Nizar victory while in fact that is not the case. Not to forget, Barisan is also having free dinners here and there to buy votes, more particularly there were two free dinners of 180 tables each just nearby our ceramah yesterday. The crowd attending our ceramahs play a very important role. It is not only that they have to be convinced to vote for Pakatan-Nizar. They must also help to convey the message to the rest, to the fence-sitters, on how to ensure a Pakatan-Nizar’s victory.
Indoor ceramah, outdoor crowd: Anwar speaks from the covered corridor of a shoplot while the crowd listens from the street outside – Photos by Anil Netto
Anwar speaking from inside a private residence to a crowd of 5,000 seated on a field opposite
Pakatan politicians are using creative means to overcome various restrictions.
Take for instance the police restriction on ceramah in “public places” in Kedah, which effectively bans open-air public rallies.
The restrictions confine the ceramah to indoor locations. So the Pakatan politicians are now stretching the definition of “indoors”. While the politicians addressing the crowd are now indoors – in shophouses or inside private premises, the crowds spill out to the streets or fields outside the indoor locations.
Rival neighbours: The MIC candidate’s ops centre (left) just two doors away from the PKR ops centre (right) – Photo by Anil Netto
An unusual situation in Bukit Selambau with the ops centre for the two parties in “close proximity” not far from the Sungai Petani town centre. And in front of both ops centres, a police canopy booth at a bus stop on a main road. Yes, the canopies are back with a heavy police presence in Sungai Petani and surrounding areas.
When I was there last night, a mini ceramah was in progress at the PKR ops centre. It was funny to hear a PKR speaker using a sound system to denounce the MIC and saying stuff like “Kita mesti menolak MIC” while a couple of doors away the MIC volunteers were nonchalantly carrying on business as usual, paying no attention. All in a day’s work.
A massive crowd pouring into the streets of Taiping on Nomination Day yesterday – Photo courtesy of Wartawan Rasmi Laman Reformasi (Click to expand)
If you had observed during the weeks and days leading to the Umno General Assembly and elections, Dr M continued to push delegates not to elect leaders who have a very poor command of English. From nowhere, a deputy president aspirant, Mat Taib, comes out defending that he has an immaculate command of the English Language.Mahathir was quoted in Malaysiakini as saying:
“One of the candidates couldn’t write in English, he couldn’t speak English and therefore (that was why) he did something wrong in Australia because he could not understand English. My choice is Muhyiddin (Yassin).”This excerpt from The Star
Published: Saturday March 21, 2009 MYT 7:58:00 PM ‘I can speak in English,’ says Muhammad Taib By ROYCE CHEAH KUALA LUMPUR: Umno deputy-president candidate, Senator Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib, is aware that there are people talking about his apparent lack of fluency in English. In answering questions at the Umno overseas club leadership course yesterday, he not only took a swipe at his critics but also proceeded to list his achievements to prove that he had a good grasp of the language.
