BN election workers missing in action: A tell-tale sign

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No one home…

Last night, while I was in Seberang Jaya, I couldn’t help noticing a number of BN road-side ‘operations centres’ that were deserted. No one home. Mind you this was in BN candidate Ariff Shah’s stronghold, his Penang state assembly seat area. Of course, there were a few BN booths that did have volunteers staffing them. But the number of BN stalls that lay empty suggests that the ruling coalition clearly over-estimated the response it would receive from volunteers. The first three of these photos were taken near the site of an Anwar ceramah in a residential area (near Jalan Siakap 12), which saw a crowd of around a thousand turning up to listen. It was between 10.30pm and 11.00pm, when many people were on the streets checking out what was going on.
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Chinese throw their weight behind Pakatan

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Any lingering doubts over who the Chinese Malaysians voters of Seberang Jaya were opting for were dispelled last night when about 3,000 people turned up to listen to Anwar and other PKR speakers such as Nurul Izzah and Azmin Ali. It was not so not so much the actual numbers but their enthusiastic reaction and body language and the way they warmed to Anwar’s speech. Anwar was of course in his element and tugged at what was close to the hearts of the crowd – education, language and the economy. He stressed the importance of Chinese as a language of economic significance. He said that many people even in the United States were learning the language. “It is not because they love China, but they realise that it is a language of economic importance.”
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Petrol price cut a sign of desperation

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Graph from oilnergy.com

Having identified one of the main sources of public disenchantment, the BN-led government, with one eye firmly on the Permatang Pauh by-election campaign, has cut the price of petrol from RM2.70 to RM2.55 – a reduction of 5.6 per cent. This price change is clearly politically motivated. When they raised the petrol price in Malaysia by 41 per cent on 5 June, the price of Nymex Light Sweet Crude was around US$125 per barrel (on 4-5 June). The closing price yesterday was US$121 – not much different from then – and now they announce a cut of 5.6 per cent? Tell me it has nothing to do with Permatang Pauh. Why didn’t they wait until 1 Sept, the date they had fixed earlier for “streamlining” oil prices?
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Tide turns against BN; landslide win for Pakatan?

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BN supporters feeling the heat (Photo credit: Abang Benet)

I was on the mainland yesterday and ran into a few people. From my conversations with them, it sounded like quite a few people were determined to teach the BN a lesson in the by-election. The Christians are utterly disgusted with the “show cause” letter to The Herald. They are definitely not impressed. Many of them are urging their friends and family members to vote for the opposition. Najib and Khairy’s  presence – and Saiful’s via video – in Permatang Pauh could prove to be counterproductive, to put it politely. I ran into a DAP grassroots worker and he said that they are going all out to ensure the BN candidate loses his deposit – and he seemed confident it was within reach! (That remains to be seen.) Rural Penanti and Permatang Pasir are in the Pakatan bag, he claimed. The only concern he had was with the low-rise low- and medium-cost flats in the ethnically mixed urban area of Seberang Jaya, which he said the BN could easily pinpoint for targeted campaigning.
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The official BN drink of the Permatang Pauh campaign

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Fancy a drink, anyone? Expiry date: 12 Aug 2011 (I am not sure if that refers to the shelf-life of the water or the BN’s expiry date. Anyway, I hope the drinking water suppliers get paid!) You meet the most unexpected people when you go ceramah hunting. The media people are the most avid ceramah followers, trailing the elusive candidates wherever they go. You also bump into fellow bloggers and internet journalists like I did on Tuesday night, when I ran into bloggers Mustafa K Anuar and Susan Loone, a journalist from Merdeka Review and the new kids on the block from The Nutgraph. It was my privilege to buy them a round of teh tarik, milo kosong, and air bandung. If not for them, your only news from the by-election campaign would be from the mainstream media. I also have to thank a particular mainstream news editor – who shall not be named! – for providing me info on how to get to the latest ceramah and for updating me on developments that I may have missed. There are a few good people in the mainstream media, with their hearts in the right place. It’s just that they are often not given the freedom to write what they believe in – thanks to their top editors. That must change – the sooner the better. Anyway, you can see us having drinks here.

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What’s at stake in Permatang Pauh

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The folks at Aliran have been busy putting together the latest issue of Aliran Monthly in time for the by-election. And it has just been mailed out to subscribers. If you are not a subscriber, what are you waiting for? 🙂 To subscribe, just click here. Or you can get a copy from leading book-shops and selected news vendors. This month, because of the forthcoming Permatang Pauh by-election, the cover story is immediately available online! Khoo Boo Teik discusses the significance of three recent elections involving small towns and goes on to the suggest that Permatang Pauh will be a major political battleground whose outcome will have national significance. For many Malaysians, Permatang Pauh’s mission, come 26 August, is more than about returning Anwar to Parliament. This town has a national choice to make. Anwar addressing a large crowd in Permatang Pauh Barring massive electoral fraud, Anwar is one by-election and two weeks short of returning to Parliament. When he does, he’d be the Opposition Leader of a second coalition. After that people would want to know if he’d really form a new Federal government in mid-September as he has declared, promised, or threatened. Full story in Aliran Monthly

Lim vs Koh: Did they really address PGCC/Batu Kawan?

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Live at 9.00pm over ntv7 Share your impressions of the debate on questionable land deals in Penang in the comments below and vote in the poll: This debate also allowed Koh Tsu Koon an opportunity to provide a public rebuttal to Guan Eng’s accusations.

Open letter to Guan Eng, Tsu Koon ahead of ‘live’ debate

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300 acres in Batu Kawan unpaid: Why hasn’t PDC taken back the land?

Address the controversial PGCC/Batu Kawan land deals in your debate
We hope you will address the issues arising from the “mother and father of all questionable land deals” in your debate.
We note with interest your ‘live’ debate tomorrow which will probably touch on several questionable and controversial land deals in the state over the last few years. There are no other deals that are more controversial and questionable than those involving the sale (and conversion) of 260 acres of land belonging to the Penang Turf Club and as well as the sale of 1,000 acres of Batu Kawan land belonging to the PDC. Both deals were entered into in 2004.
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Something remarkable happened near the UiTM campus

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Umno supporters unfurl a banner supporting the Malays-only status quo of the UiTM college on Nomination Day (Photo credit: Abang Benet)

At around 9.45 last night, Anwar bravely addressed a crowd of close to a thousand people on a service road outside the UiTM Permatang Pauh campus. Nearby apartment dwellers and students from the hostel, mainly Malay, poured out to listen to him. Some of these students must have been among the reported crowd of  5,000 who had demonstrated here against Selangor MB Khalid Ibrahim’s suggestion that the university open its doors to non-bumiputeras (see below).

Anwar stressed to the crowd the importance of multiracialism. He would be a prime minister that would be fair to all Malaysians and it would be his responsibility to make sure he took care of all ethnic groups.

“Orang Melayu anak saya… (pause) …  orang Cina anak saya … (pause) …. orang India … anak saya,” he said in poetic and dramatic fashion.

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Helicopter beams searchlight on 30,000-crowd

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This police chopper was one of a pair that circled continuously above the large crowd on Nomination Day (Photo credit: Abang Benet)

BUKIT JELUTONG, Permatang Pasir – A helicopter, believed to be a police chopper, beamed its searchlight over a crowd of about 30,000 listening to Anwar at a Pakatan ceramah just before he brought the curtain down at midnight yesterday.

“It’s okay, let them disturb us for a bit. I will complete my speech,” said Anwar earlier, as the helicopter clattered overhead. “It’s not always we get a helicopter in Permatang Pauh!”

Permatang Pasir, a state seat held by Pas, lies in the Malay heartland of Permatang Pauh. Thousands had gathered in a large open area in Bukit Jelutong, which was also filled by the huge travelling bazaar that follows Anwar’s ceramah everywhere. I saw stalls selling everything from nasi biriani, fried jackfruit and what looked like aphrodisiacs!

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Kin Woon quits Gerakan and BN

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Where is Kin Woon?: Gerakan leaders and reps stand in front of what looks like a pile of food on Nomination Day (Photo credit: Abang Benet) Gerakan central committee member Toh Kin Woon has quit the party and, by extension, the BN. He will probably focus more on civil society work. He is a long-time member and supporter of the social reform group Aliran and chairman of the Penang-based Socio-economic and Environmental Research Institute (Seri). This is what Kin Woon said over the phone:
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My experience at a BN ceramah

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A Puteri Umno supporter in high spirits on Nomination Day (Photo credit: Abang Benet) PERMATANG PAUH – While many people were trying to get to one of Anwar’s ceramahs last night, I stumbled upon a BN/Umno ceramah along the main road from the town centre. It was in full flow with a crowd of 200 women and men – seated in separate sections – in the porch of a wooden double-storey building that houses the local Umno branch. Nearly all of them were Malay/Muslim. I stood close to the main road, outside the house – I was not sure if I would be welcome – listening to a couple of the speakers: a Dato and an ustaz formerly from Pas.
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Nightmare (for BN) on Penanti Street

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The rise of the Anwar clones: PKR’s Gobalakrishnan wearing an Anwar face mask at Nomination Day today. Scores of others were seen bearing such masks.

A PKR supporter taunts an Umno man by waving RM10 ringgit notes in front of him

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LIVE: Vast PKR multitude overwhelms BN crowd

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PKR supporters dance in the middle of a sea of humanity to the beat of Indian drums 1215: And then, the heavens open, drenching the high-spirited crowds. “Hujan keramat (showers of blessings)!,” shouts one PKR supporter, looking up into the sky, as FRU personnel lining the road look on, blankly. I count 13 police trucks on my way out after dashing for shelter under one of the many stalls along the main road. Among those spotted in the crowd by others are Raja Petra, Rais Yatim,  and Ezam. 1145: It’s a three-corned fight, with the third candidate coming from Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia (Akim), which is said to be a Pas splinter group, set to play a spoiler’s role. All objections have been rejected. A huge roar erupts when Anwar’s name is announced. The Indian drumming group and dancers are now back in action livening up the atmosphere further. Thunder rolls in the sky as if to accompany the beat. It is threatening to rain. Earlier, the Pakatan crowd were chanting “Al-tan-tu-ya!” in the open field at the BN supporters. A PKR Chinese drumming group also performed as an appreciative, largely Malay crowd snapped photos. Blog reader Muhammad Firdaus Christopher comments:

Syukur Alhamdulillah, Datuk Seri has started his journey towards being our 6th Prime Minister and the show begins tonight. For the record, I was there since 7.00am until about 11.45am and Masya Allah, I have never seen ever the thunderous and huge supporters of Pakatan Rakyat (PKR, DAP, PAS) bestowing in Penanti/ Permatang Pauh. I strongly believe and estimate the crowd of supporters ranging between 90,000 – 110,000. I am speechless… Love live DSAI and lets us all work extra hard to ensure that his first step into Parliament happens on the 26th August when we cast our votes.
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“Religion”, according to Syed Hamid Albar

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This is what constitutes “religion”, according to Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar: “If you are to write on religion, then you are supposed to touch on matters pertaining to: – questions on rituals, – adherence to God, – followers and – anything related to your divine mission.” It is interesting that the first thing that comes to his mind when thinking of religion is “rituals” – and not   deeper spiritual values such as justice and concern for the poor.
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Permatang Pauh: The missing issue

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There is one issue you will hardly hear about in the Permatang Pauh by-election campaign – even thought it affects one in three workers in the country. Now, why would politicians who are desperate for votes ignore the concerns of one in three workers? Perhaps it’s because when we talk about workers, we rarely think of the migrant workers in the country. Yes, one out of every three workers in the country is a migrant worker. For the last two days I have been in Shah Alam attending a National Consultation on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers organised by Tenaganita, the Bar Council, Aliran and Caram Asia.
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Sisters in Islam book banned

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It’s not just The Herald and Catholic Asian News that has come under the Home Ministry’s scrutiny.

Two books on Islam including one by the respected group Sisters in Islam (SIS) have been banned. The books were banned because they contained “twisted facts on Islam that can undermine the faith of Muslims”, according to a Bernama report. I contacted Zainah Anwar of SIS and she told me the book “Muslim Women and the Challenge of Islamic Extremism” was an old one which has been out since 2005. According to her, it was actually a compilation of papers arising from a seminar among Muslim women’s groups from around the region and edited by Norani Othman, an experienced academic and researcher.
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Herald under further pressure

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The Herald, a Catholic weekly published in Malaysia, is under further pressure from the Home Ministry, which will be scrutinising its forthcoming editorial on the Permatang Pauh by-election. The edition will reach the churches in the peninsula this weekend. “The editorial is only asking people to pray for a just and fair by-election. Can’t we Christians ask fellow Christians to pray? Is that against the law?” Herald editor Fr Lawrence Andrew, SJ was quoted as saying. The paper was given three warning letters before receiving a show-cause letter last month. Its licence could be suspended if its latest editorial displeases the Home Ministry, which feels the paper should stick to “religion” – according to the Ministry’s understanding of the term.
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Seberang Jaya state assembly member is BN candidate

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It’s Arif Shah Omar Shah vs Anwar Ibrahim. Arif Shah, the Penang State Assembly member for Seberang Jaya, will be the BN candidate for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election. Said to be hard-working and a Mandarin speaker, he reportedly has a service centre in Taman Pauh Jaya in Jalan Baru with seven full-time and five part-time staff.
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Kwang Chye’s “friendly advice” for Kin Woon

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Gerakan secretary-general Chia Kwang Chye has some “friendly advice” for party stalwart Toh Kin Woon (pic): Don’t attend anymore events organised by PKR. This was reported in the Kwong Wah Chinese-language newspaper today. Kin Woon was among the crowd of between 10,000 and 20,000 at Anwar’s ceramah in Permatang Pauh on Saturday night (9 Aug). When asked whether any further action would be taken against Kin Woon, Kwang Chye said no, but he hoped that Kin Woon would not take part in any further events organised by the PKR.
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