Keng Yaik spoke too soon

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In yesterday’s entry, I highlighted several quotes from an Off the Edge interview with Gerakan adviser Lim Keng Yaik, including his comment about the dubious land deals in Penang:
(Koh Tsu Koon) was not strong enough to stop the Umno fellas. Let’s see the land cases coming up; you’ll find an Umno arm all over the place. Yes, and Guan Eng is saying, “You did not stop it.”

But check out theSun online today. In an article titled ‘Public land gone!’, Terence and Nades reported:

What was supposed to be land for facilities for the people in the up-market Bandar Utama township has ended up in private hands. All it took was for the previous members of the Selangor Executive Council to agree and for the then mentri besar to alienate the land to individuals, bodies, corporations – and even political parties…. All in all, seven parcels of land meant for public amenities have been misused…. Political parties have also got into the action and hijacked some of them. The land on which Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan)’s building is located was meant for a telecommunications exchange, while the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) now owns a parcel of land designated for a Tamil school.
Ouch! Perhaps Keng Yaik would like to clarify. (As for the MIC, that’s a lost cause.)
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Keng Yaik lashes out at Umno’s arrogance

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Happy Merdeka Day! – though some of you may not exactly be in a celebratory mood. Anyway, if you are feeling a little bored on what is a sunny day here in Penang, why not hop over to your local news-stand and pick up a copy of Off the Edge magazine for some ‘fun’. (The magazine does not come with The Edge weekly tabloid; you have to buy the magazine separately.) This week’s cover story is a remarkably frank and hard-hitting interview with Gerakan adviser Dr Lim Keng Yaik, who even accepts partial blame for the 8 March BN setback. He is not a happy man though and, horrors, utters an expletive during the interview. I just hope interviewers Ho Kay Tat and Jason Tan were sitting a safe distance away, if you know what I mean. 🙂 He says he has spoken out before –  to Dr M and within BN circles, about the prevalence of money politics. (“It’s all money, money, money, money, money.”) Just to give you a flavour of the interview: Where did the BN and Umno go wrong especially in their response to Anwar’s ‘branding’ of Ketuanan Rakyat?
The more they hammer Anwar, the more they popularise him. I was also part of it, hammering Anwar, telling all the stories about Anwar. Didn’t work. [The people responded by saying], ‘Lu kong si ha mi ah? Lu boh aneh cham ah, lu boh eong eh lang, sway lang, chau lang lai.’ (In Hokkien: ‘what are you all in BN talking about? Aren’t you so bad yourself? BN is useless, a pox on the people, and a bunch of rogues.’) I blame this purely on the arrogance, abuse of power and  non-transparency of Umno, the interference of the ‘Fourth Floor’ boys who think they know best, and the inability to keep the civil servants at bay….
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Khairy finds himself on Raja Petra and Dr M’s side

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Surprise, surprise, guess who disagrees with the move to block Malaysia Today? Khairy! Wudyabelieve it! In the latest entry on his blog he says:
In defence of those who despise me No other website has caused me as much bad rep and deliberately destroyed my character as Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s Malaysia Today. Yet I cannot help disagreeing with the recent move by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to block access to the site. Such blatant and crude employment of State power is inconsistent with the widening of the democratic space – an approach the current Administration adopted long before the 12th General Election…
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Budget Day: Go on, change your lifestyle

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Change my lifestyle? Who me? – Urban poor in a kampong in Penang Island

Here they go again, telling you to change your life-style:
Malaysians Should Change Lifestyle To Manage High Oil Prices KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 (Bernama) — It is important for Malaysians to change their lifestyle to help bring down the consumption of non-renewable energy while measures are being implemented to alleviate the hardship arising from cost-push inflation, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said.
I am not sure what the pakciks and makciks in the kampongs, long-houses, estates, orang asli settlements, low-cost flats and urban pioneer settlements will make of this. And let’s not forget the migrant workers crammed 20-to-a-house. They are certainly not the ones cruising the roads in their Mercs or BMWs and spending RM10 on a cup of latte. Here’s a response from Justin Choo:
Anil Makciks and Pakciks, kampongs and long houses, may be far away in the rural areas. You have not mentioned the retired people like me. No more active income. Some still got to feed grandchildren. I live a very, very simple lifestyle. No smoking, no drinking, no gambling, no womanising (too old lah, and also not rich!), always stay at home, eat small breakfast, and two simple meals a day, drive an old red “taxi” Proton Saga, and wear shorts and T-shirt, and slippers. What lifestyle to change? The only change is upgrade! Eat the most sumptious cuisine in fine-dining style? Savour fine wines and caviar, birdnest soup, abalone with scallops, baked lobsters drenched in the finest red wine. Fly to New York, Paris and London for shopping, etc…. How nice.
Let’s see the Ministers leading by example and dumping their petrol-guzzling cars, with all the escorts and outriders, and taking public transport everyday.
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Should Gerakan pull out from BN?

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Last night, Mustafa and I spoke at a Gerakan ‘teh tarik’ session on the outcome of the Permatang Pauh by-election and its implications. I was surprised to see the level of interest among those who attended, including non-Gerakan members as well. Many were keen to know whether Anwar would get his 30 MPs by 16 September. I told them I had no idea. I stressed to them the importance of institutional checks and balances. We cannot rely on a strong personality alone to bring about change. We need deeper institutional reforms – to the judiciary, police, ACA, Parliament, Election Commission and Suhakam.  We also need a change in the mindset among politicians so that they really serve the rakyat and not themselves.
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Anwar finally sumpahs – in Parliament

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The BN has been challenging Anwar to take an oath – and he finally obliged, this morning. Only thing, it was not the sort of oath they had in mind. He was sworn in as Member of Parliament and is now Parliamentary Opposition Leader.

MPPP formally rejects Abad Naluri’s PGCC proposal

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The Penang Island Municipal Council has formally rejected Abad Naluri’s mixed-development proposal for the Batu Gantung area (the Penang Global City Centre or PGCC project) at the Council’s committee meeting on 6 August. The grounds for rejection were:
  • The proposal did not take into consideration the density of Taman Jesselton (6 units/acre), Scotland Road (10.2 units/acre) and Batu Gantung Road (15-30 units/acre);
  • The applicant had not submitted amended plans for further consideration;
  • There was no formal application to the Council and State Authorities for low- and medium-cost housing on land in Rifle Range Road belonging to the Council and state government;
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Anwar re-enters Parliament as PR MPs thump approval

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Heard from an eye- witness that Anwar has returned to Parliament to a rousing welcome from Pakatan MPs. Wan Azizah was seated in the VIP area of the viewing gallery to witness the proceedings this morning. Also present was Nurul Izzah. On the Umno side, Abdullah and Najib were not seen while only Nazri and a few other Umno MPs were present.
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16 September beckons…

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What an eventful day:
  • Malaysia Today blocked – surely the government must be aware that it is futile to block sites in this day and age?
  • Anwar to be sworned in, in Parliament tomorrow, and
  • We have a new Parliamentary Opposition Leader
Meanwhile I had to get this article out for Asia Times on the implications of Anwar/PKR’s win: PENANG – Opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim’s victory in a crucial by-election in the Permatang Pauh constituency in Penang on Tuesday has thrown wide open the political possibilities in the coming months. Standing under the banner of his People’s Justice Party (PKR), he cruised to a 15,671-vote majority on the back of an over 80% turnout among 58,000 voters on the electoral rolls. Read more

My “disgusting” coverage: Blogger crackdown looms?

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Oh dear, I guess you can’t please everyone. “BN Partyman” sent in this comment, which contains a none-too-subtle threat.
Dear Anil, Your biased live coverage of the PP buy-election was disgusting to say the least. It seemed like the Barisan Nasional was non-existent in PP. The fact that more than 15,000 people voted for Arif Shah is testimony to BN’s popularity. If it were not for the rough house tactics of the PKR goons, more legitimate voters would have made it to the polling stations. You and your ilk ought to be detained under the ISA and the keys thrown away. You are partisan, unfair, biased, and a false witness to the events in PP. Like the 31,000 odd who voted for Anwar, you are ungrateful for the development and progress wrought by the BN. Honestly ask yourself: Would you even own a laptop or even know how to use the Internet if not for the education that the BN gave you? Just like the other bloggers and commentators on the blogsites, you bite the hand that feeds you. You are despicable and so is Raja Petra and the likes of him. When the BN government finally wipes out the Opposition from the face of this Earth, we’ll be coming after you and all of your ilk for the lies and ridiculous untrue propaganda that you spread to the innocent rakyat. Unfortunately it seems now that a large minority of the rakyat are stupid enough to pay attention to the lies of the Opposition. The BN will educate them very soon and I assure you it will be a painful lesson indeed. BN Sakthi!!!
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It’s 81 per cent turnout, not 65 per cent

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A group of kampong boys in Penanti near the tallying centre caught up in election fever after the results were announced

As some of you have pointed out, there is a discrepancy between the Election Commission’s figure for the voter turnout of 65 per cent turnout and the actual turnout, which was 81 per cent. This discrepancy created a lot of confusion. Anwar secured 31,195 votes; Ariff 15,524 votes and Akim’s Hanafi Mamat 92 votes (deposit lost). That is over 46,800 votes cast compared to the total voters of around 58,000. My math whizz friend comments, “It looks like the Election Commission can only count correctly when the BN wins.” He further analysed the results and came up with the following conclusions:
  • Anwar won two thirds of the votes cast.
  • The support for PKR comes from all ethnic groups.
  • Support for Anwar/PKR among the Malays comes in at around 60-65 per cent. Incidentally this tallies with what Din, the elderly gentleman in Kampong Petani, told me: “Out of a hundred residents here, you could say 60 to 70 support PKR.”
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Polling Day: LIVE reports from Ground Zero

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Hope for the future: The next generation celebrates an Anwar and Reformasi victory in a kampong in Penanti earlier this evening Send in your “citizen journalist” eye-witness reports from Permatang Pauh as it goes to the polls. Others share with us your thoughts on polling day. All eyes in Malaysia and beyond are trained on this constituency of 58,000 voters in mainland Penang, the scene of a pivotal by-election on Tuesday that could determine if an opposition alliance can press ahead with its plan to take over the federal government in the coming weeks. Check out my pre-election IPS news analysis here. The official final majority is 15,671 votes. Anwar secured 31,195 votes; Ariff 15,524 votes and Akim’s Hanafi Mamat 92 votes (deposit lost). 2154: The unofficial final tally is a majority of around 16,500. On a more sobering note, the simple and friendly Malay kampong shopkeeper here says,”We don’t get anything whoever wins, you know.” Ariff, he says, is a nice guy. “He just happened to be in the wrong ‘car’ (party).” Two little Malay boys were peering into my laptop earlier, a 12-year-old and a younger boy around six. I asked the older boy what he wants to be when he grows up. “Dreber (driver),” he replied proudly. “Dreber lori.” 2016: Anwar has bagged around 32,000 votes so far to Ariff’s 14,000; that’s a 17,000-18,000 majority. “He has taken on the whole BN machinery and all the resources at their disposal and come out tops,” says a lawyer. 2010: TV3 confirms that Anwar has won. But counting is still in progress. 1936: Out of 9,000 votes tallied, the BN has secured just over 2,000. Anwar is leading by about a 4-to-1 margin. The BN has even lost Seberang Jaya, according to my source. 1905: Another police convoy, sirens blaring, passes by heading to the central counting area, this time followed by scores of motorcyclists carrying PKR flags and waving in triumph. They are already celebrating! 1858: It’s a landslide for Anwar! Out of 5,000 votes counted, about 4,100 go to PKR, according to my source. 1854: Police outriders, their sirens wailing, a police van and police on motorbikes beat the long queue to the counting centre. Behind them a motorcyclist follows, the pillion rider, a woman, pumps her fist in the air. More motorcylists carrying PKR flags pass by. The police chopper circles above. 1852: Turnout is reportedly 65 per cent, lower than expected. (This was  based on a Bernama report carried on the NST website.) 1848: In the distance, I can hear kampong children, probably sensing something in the air, continually crying out “Reformasi!” 1825: A convoy of bikers waving PKR flags passes by as a police chopper hovers ahead. Motorists continue to honk on the roads. Traffic on the roads here has come to a standstill. A siren wails in the distance. 1800: It all points to an Anwar victory by a large majority. An elderly Malay gentleman, Din, from the kampong here ambles up to me and we exchange pleasantries. I ask him what the level of support for Anwar is in this area. “Out of a hundred residents here, you could say 60 to 70 support PKR.” 1755: I have also received a report that Pakatan supporters have apprehended five buses of hantus in Seberang Jaya. But Gobalakrishnan has been arrested in the process. Motorists are honking and I can hear  more cries of “Reformasi!” 1750: Abdullah Badawi is said to have returned to KL. I was heading to the counting area but there’s a massive crawl from Permatang Pauh heading to the central counting area. So I have parked in a little kampong area, Kampong Petani in Penanti. It’s an amazing sight on the roads here. Children are on the roadsides, shouting Reformasi!, come of them are carrying PKR flags while others are wearing Anwar masks. The childen at least are already celebrating! 1647: RPK and Mkini are both predicting a winning margin of 10,000 – but could it be more – or less, if the hantus get to work? 1636: “We are witnessing a turning point in our country’s history,” a friend of mine says in a text message. 1617: Hisham Rais reports that alleged hantus (phantoms) have been caught in Mengkuang Titi. What next? Check his blog for more about these mysterious hantus.

Calon PKR Anwar Ibrahim bersama dengan penyokongnya telah menangkap “hantu”. Kejadian berlaku di Mengkuang Titi. Keadaan agak tegang di sana. PEKIDA a.k.a geng adik beradik juga berada di sana untuk memanaskan keadaan. Penduduk kampung nampaknya lebih “matang” daripada PEKIDA untuk mengawal suasana.
1610: Ah Singh has this update for us. Could this be true? Interesting “mental estimates”! Polling’s not yet over though… We shall see.
Anwar won already-lah. My kaki just rang me at 3.15 pm to say landslide victory for Anwar after he and some guys did some ‘mental’ estimates at the polling stations. No fight-lah. Anwar won hands down. All hail the new Prime Minister of Malaysia.
1600: Bright sunshine bathes the town centre, keeping the rain away. I am now preparing to head to the central counting centre, for what should be an eventful evening. Stay tuned! 1530: While having some fruit juice at a coffee-shop nearby, I notice a couple of the waiters wearing shirts/T shirts in PKR blue. I look at the Chinese waiter’s cap when she serves me my drink. It’s the same blue. I look more closely at the emblem stitched onto her cap. It is a small portrait of Anwar. A PKR man, a Chinese Malaysian, joins me at the table in the crowded shop. A party member for the last eight years, he says he has come from Ipoh because “I want to see democracy in Malaysia”. Someone has suggested there may have been cloud-seeding operations to get it to rain! But it’s not raining now, though the sky looks grey and overcast. About an hour earlier, I ran into a couple of Mafrel election observers. They told me the turnout at a Chinese school was high at lunch time – around 60 per cent. They also said they spotted three plainclothes police personnel in the compound of one polling centre and reported the matter to get them out of there. Meanwhile, the Election Commission is reported as saying that the turnout could exceed 80 per cent. A friend of mine estimates turnout of at least 75 per cent and a winning majority of 15,000. So we know turnout won’t be low, although there are unconfirmed reports that the turnout was low in a few Malay areas. But there’s still time yet. 1452: Selvarajah Somiah reports on the unofficial turnout:
I have unofficial reports that the turnout at 2.00pm is at 65-70 per cent. At this rate, the voter turnout before 5.00pm should be more than 80 per cent. More people are coming out to vote now. Anwar should be winning with more than 10,000 votes if this is the trend.
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Eve of polling: LIVE reports from Ground Zero

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The Last Ceramah: Close to 60,000 people turned up for the big one. This was the scene at around 9.45pm on a wet night. Now you know why I turned back! 0020: Huge traffic jams after the ceramah ends. The revised estimate for the size of the crowd is between 50,000 and 60,000, according to my source at the scene. Ceramah speakers have warned people to be on the lookout for any Umno/BN/other people dressed in PKR attire who could be out to create havoc in the morning. 0010: TV3 news is highlighting the case of the two Perak PKR exco members who were charged for corruption today. There will be a re-mention of the case on 15 Sept – hey, that’s one day before 16 Sept! Nothing mentioned about the two exco members today filing a RM100 million suit against the ACA and three others over their arrest. Meanwhile, in an attempt at damage control, the FT Mufti, Wan Zahidi, appears on the news to declare that Saiful’s oath was fine and that imam, Ustaz Ramlang Porigi, is just a junior official who basically doesn’t know what he is talking about! Ramlang, says the Mufti, didn’t provide any theological references for his statements. 2351: Thanks to all the “citizen journalists” who contributed reports of the situation on the ground today. I received many calls from friends and relatives asking me what the real situation is because the word going around is that the BN has been gaining the upper hand. But as you can see below, the reality offers a totally different picture. Thanks for helping to counter the rumours and the mainstream media’s spin. 2347: A speaker at the big ceramah in Seberang Jaya is urging folks to keep a sharp lookout for any irregularities during polling tomorrow and to report any wrongdoings. 2337: Despite the state holiday for Penang tomorrow, it is believed that some factories in the FTZ will be operating as usual. But they are likely to give workers time off to vote. The margin of victory will depend on the voter turnout. 2314: Blog reader Karma says PKR’s chances look bright while the same can’t be said for BN:
It’s almost 11.00pm now. Things are beginning to settle. Supporters of Anwar are very pleased as they feel that they have done their best this time around to campaign for Anwar. Supporters of BN, on the other hand,  seem quite frustrated. Things don’t seem to favour them. A lot of issues brought up by their masters have backfired, according to them. The issue of Saiful was actually a non-issue for many people in Permatang Pauh. They felt that the explicit way of showing and telling the people what happened to him did not go down well with the community here. Most disbelieved Saiful’s version of the story. Ustaz Ramlang had the final say on this issue and this spoiled BN’s image on the eve of election day. Nik Aziz, Haron Din and Hadi hammered in the last message to the people of this constituency. They managed to convince most Malays into disbelieving the media and Saiful’s confession and swearing. Many BN workers resigned much earlier, thinking that there is no hope for their candidate, Ariff. Their general perception is that Ariff is no match for Anwar. Anwar to them is more charismatic. All campaigns will come to a stop in an hour’s time. Things have slowed down. Through my random survey of opinions here, the verdict is going to be Anwar to win with a big majority, surpassing that of his wife in the 8 March by-election. Even most BN supporters feel the same. Those favouring the Opposition want a strong personality like Anwar to be in the parliament. Some Umno supporters do not want to see a victory for Ariff; they even do not want a reduction of the majority votes for Anwar if he wins. They feel that this will be an endorsement for Pak Lah. These supporters are not in favour of Pak Lah leading Umno. Neither are some convinced with Najib. With this situation, Anwar will gain most when the votes are cast tomorrow. Good luck to Anwar and Ariff.
2245: Seven Hindraf supporters who were detained at a protest outside a temple here on Friday were released on police bail today. 2230: Traffic has slowed to a crawl on the main roads inside Seberang Jaya. A lot of people are out and about. Restaurants and eateries are crowded. I spot a couple of motorcyclists with PKR flags, and a car bearing a Pas flag. But no one seems to be flying the BN colours. It’s still drizzling here. 2145: I try to get to the Pakatan ceramah near Seberang Jaya along the old road to BM but the highway is jammed. It’s a wet night here on mainland Penang, but obviously thousands are still trying to get to the ceramah. Because it’s hopeless trying to get there, I turn back. But Aliran members-cum-bloggers Mustafa K Anuar and Susan Loone are already inside the ceramah site now with P Ramakrishnan and no doubt they will be providing you eye-witness coverage later tonight or tomorrow morning in their blogs. More than 10,000 people are at the ceramah now. Speakers include Guan Eng, Azmin, Gobalakrishnan and of course Anwar. The countdown to midnight begins!
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Eve of polling: Hopes of a nation… your thoughts

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Here’s where you get to share your comments – your thoughts, hopes and prayers, your reflections, poems and aspirations – with other Malaysians and with the world on the eve of polling. Share with us what you think – who you think is likely to win, what it means for the people, the government and the country… Just add your thoughts in the comments section.

LIVE from Penanti: Imam’s revelation about Saiful’s oath

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Ustaz Ramlang Porigi getting a load off his chest: “I was ordered to witness Saiful’s oath… This sort of oath should have been undertaken in the presence of both parties.”

0010: Anwar makes a reference to Nalla’s former driver’s sworn statement re: Najib. Even the Hindus are now getting into the sumpah act, he observes. How come none of the Chinese are swearing, he jokes… He highlights a house in Permatang Pauh which has 100 voters. 2350: Anwar arrives to chants of “Reformasi! Takbir! Allahu Akhbar!” He says journalists from around the world are here to cover the by-election. He condemns the racial tactics used in the campaign. He says he is accused of being an agent of everyone – Jews, Americans, Chinese… He asks the Malays to reject corrupt BN leaders and not blame other races such as the Chinese or others. The helicopter is back! Anwar mocks the 15-sen oil price reduction. He recalls his ordeal in the past while the crowd listens in rapt attention. Now he mocks the BN leaders’ sumpah antics. 2330: I meet a Penanti-based blogger and he predicts a majority of 10,000-15,000. A ceramah speaker goes one better, predicting a 20,000-majority. He says they are better prepared to detect phantom voters if they turn up. “We will make sure the election is clean.” The same speaker says they are warning Khairy to  retract his statement that the PKR campaign is funded by America or else they will sue him. He adds that they caught people – allegedly Kepala Batas Umno supporters – putting up misleading banners. “Campaign properly and talk about the real issues, don’t resort to such underhand tactics,” he urges. 2315: Ustaz Ramlang Porigi is now speaking. He is an imam at the Masjid Wilayah Persekutuan, one of those who witnessed Saiful’s oath. He wants to get something off his chest and goes on to explain what really happened on the day when Saiful swore he was sodomised. Ramlang says he was ordered (diarahkan) to become a witness to Saiful’s swearing but he does not say who ordered him. Anyway, he didn’t arrange Saiful’s oath-taking. The text of Saiful’s oath was probably advised by his lawyers or others. Ramlang considers Saiful’s oath as undertaken for his own benefit. The imam says that, from what he has studied, this particular form of oath – sumpah mubahalah – has to be undertaken in the presence of both parties involved. It is only meant as a last resort where there is no evidence available for adjudication in court. But in this case, the matter was still in court, so the oath cannot not be considered to be sumpah mubahalah. It was just an oath for Saiful’s own benefit. He adds that on that day, Saiful did not appear to be perturbed or afraid as a Muslim would normally be when undertaking such a solemn oath with all its possible serious consequences. Perhaps because Saiful was reading from a prepared text, he may not have been perturbed. But he made errors in reciting the oath. Ramlang hopes that after this revelation he won’t be blamed (for this whole swearing business). This imam is just a small-time imam not an Imam Besar, adds Pas commissioner Ibrahim.
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BN propaganda onslaught over television

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Just caught the 8.00pm news over TV1 and TV3. For the first 20 minutes it was almost all BN propaganda. The propaganda centred on four main areas:
  • challenge to Anwar to swear on the Qur’an
  • 200 “PKR members” crossing over to BN(!) – ho hum, the usual thing.
  • greater compensation or financial assistance to the poor/squatters within Permatang Pauh
  • rifts within the Pakatan, conflicting ideologies etc; therefore the coalition will be unable to govern the country.
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The moment of truth draws near

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They came from far and near to Permatang Pauh last night

This was the scene at the Pakatan ceramah in Seberang Jaya last night, attended by close to 3,000 people.

They shouted “Reformasi!” and “Makkal Sakthi” enthusiastically. For some, it was their first experience at a political rally. “I never knew it could be so interesting,” said a politically awakened middle-class  resident of Butterworth.

Much of the discussion among the crowd centred on whether Anwar could improve on his wife Azizah’s winning majority of over 13,000.

One Permatang Pauh voter told me that he had heard from a reliable source that support for Anwar was currently running at 70:30 and that the Pakatan leader could improve on Azizah’s winning majority by a few thousand. “Even if it’s a dirty election, he could win by a 10,000-vote majority,” he insisted.

Anwar himself has called for caution, warning that more dirty tricks could surface between now and polling day. “Don’t be surprised at what else they could bring up.” He highlighted cases of certain people going around photostating the ICs of voters.

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Anwar slams govt for overcrowded general hospitals

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Anwar speaking in Seberang Jaya last night Anwar has sharply criticised the federal government for overcrowded general hospitals such as the one in Seberang Jaya. He said he was responsible for the construction of the hospital more than a decade ago. “But look at the state of the hospital today,” he said during a ceramah in the midst of low-cost flats in Seberang Jaya last night. “It is so overcrowded and I feel sorry for the poor folks there.” The rich and the better off have the option of seeking immediate treatment in private hospitals but the poor have no choice but to wait at government hospitals. “If they need heart surgery, for instance, they might have to wait for eight months,” said Anwar. “But by the seventh month, they could have dropped dead.”
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Abolish ISA campaigners make their presence felt

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Meet Kris Khaira, a human rights activist from Penang. He and his colleagues from GMI (Gabungan Mansuhkan ISA or Abolish ISA Movement) have been campaigning against the draconian ISA, which permits detention without trial, at some of the ceramah in the ongoing campaign. The GMI is a coalition of over 80 civil society groups. They have been getting the crowds to participate in postcard campaigns and distributing Abolish ISA badges.
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Giant-killer Kumar joins the fray

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Kumar received a rousing reception in Seberang Jaya last night

Giant-killer Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj joined in the by-election campaign last night in Seberang Jaya. He was introduced as the wira (hero) who defeated the long-time MIC president Samy Vellu in the general election. The crowd cheered loudly. In his address, Kumar spoke about the impact of economic recessions of the past. “Each time there is an economic slowdown, Umno would be split as they fight over which cronies to rescue,” he pointed out. “This happened in 1987 and 1997-98.  The same thing is happening now.” In the process, racial issues would be raised to deflect attention from the divisions in the party leadership.
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