Batang Ai: Jawah addresses 800-crowd in longhouse

My contact in Sarawak reports:

2137: At a ceramah in a long-house, Jawah Gerang, the PKR candidate, is speaking using a mixture of Iban and Malay. Among those present are Ngemah state assembly member Gabriel Adit (an independent who joined PKR in November) and Padungan state assembly member Dominique Ng.

Gabriel is speaking in Iban now. Khalid Ibrahim and others are waiting in the wingsfor their turn. The crowd is estimated at more than 800, their mood upbeat.

1819: At the PKR operations centre in Lubuk Antu, Khalid is addressing a crowd of 80 in a crammed room. He speaks about the ‘welfare government’ of Selangor and stresses that all Aduns must work hard and cannot afford to take it easy.

A by-election win here would be a victory not just for Batang Ai but for all Malaysians who cherish justice, he adds.

1340: We stop by a restaurant at 10th mile in Kuching for a drink with Khalid Ibrahim, William Leong, Dominique and other local PKR leaders. We are now heading for Batang Ai in a convoy of six vehicles.