An interfaith prayer and reflection for peace and justice in Gaza will be held at the Holy Spirit Hall in Penang (off Jalan Masjid Negeri/Green Lane at the Caltex station) at 8.00pm on Friday, 23 January.
Kicking off the event will be a speaker from Jamaah Islah Malaysia (JIM).
Over the last couple of weeks, the Herald, Malaysia’s Catholic weekly, has been highlighting the situation in Gaza on its front page.
Fr Paulino Miranda, the parish priest of the Church of the Divine Mercy in Shah Alam, is among those who have been asked to appear in court on Thursday to be charged in connection with their participation in an Abolish ISA vigil/Bersih anniversary commemoration.
The Catholic priest was among 23 arrested during the vigil on 9 November 2008 and later released on police bail the same night. Their bail was not extended when they reported at the police station on 24 November – and they thought then that no further action would be taken. But since last Friday, several of them including Paulino have received phone calls from the police informing them that they will be charged at the PJ Magistrates Court at 2.00pm on 22 January. Among them were a few vigil participants who were campaigning in the Kuala Terengganu by-election.
The authorities appear to be tightening the screws on those participating in the Abolish ISA vigils.
After the potluck at the MBPJ premises was disrupted, participants moved it to the Lotus Restaurant opposite – Photo by Man with d Video Cam
Rakyat@work reports from the PJ Abolish ISA vigil last night:
“Too many troops spoil the soup.”
Indeed last night’s PJ Abolish ISA vigil, pot-luck style, caused so much confusion amongst many of the rakyat who came prepared with home-cooked food to share with everyone.
Instead, at about 8.20pm, an operation to ‘lock down’ the PJ Civil Centre turned it into a ‘centre of shame’.
“I had some food specially prepared for this occasion and to see how this entire operation took place is simply outrageous,” commented one of the rakyat.
First, the authorities were jittery about lighted candles; now food? What’s next? More than a hundred police and FRU personnel were deployed to monitor some 150 ordinary citizens armed with plastic forks and spoons. Roads were blocked and traffic diverted. I stood there amazed at the sheer extent of the police operations. It was massive.
The motorcyclists celebrated late into the night on the streets of KT
And so it came to pass (Pas!). The ‘East Coast Monsoon’ swamped this coastal town and swept the BN aside. It was a victory not just for Pas but also the Pakatan, whose politicians helped in the campaign, and activists, many of them non-Muslims, who campaigned vigorously during the campaign. They worked together to dislodge the BN candidate despite the heavy machinery of the state being deployed.
Most of all, it was a victory for the people of Kuala Terengganu, who cast away their fears, doubts and the attempts to buy their votes through promises of allocations and projects.
Immediately after the results, an analyst told me the swing towards Pas came largely from younger voters. How they celebrated on the streets: hundreds of bikers and others in cars, waving flags and shouting in jubilation. They pulled down flags from the streets, draped themselves with them or just simply waved them, circling the streets of town on their bikes and waving at passers by as they vroomed by. By midnight, the the main road in town had been almost stripped of Pas flags and the only flags left fluttering were the BN and Umno flags.
Bemused Light Strike Force personnel keep an eye on the good-humoured exchange and canvassing outside the Chendering School. Thousands of police have been deployed
Exuberant Pas supporters outnumber the BN folks just before noon: This scene is repeated in other streets of KT today.
The final majority is 2,631. Congrats, blog reader Rahman S; you came really close with your “2,968 votes with +-2% error” prediction! Thanks to all who helped with information from the counting centre and the media. Outside I can hear a whole convoy of honking motorbikes and other vehicles passing on the main road. As in Permatang Pauh, it was the celebrating motorcyclists who were the first to be so sure of victory soon after polling stations had closed…
2105: Pas leads by 2,424 in the official tally, with two boxes left. It’s impossible for the BN to catch up.
Congratulations to the victors! Where does this leave Najib? Anyway, now I can have something to eat! But first, we are off to check out the scene on the streets.
2104: Pas leads by 2,400 votes with three more boxes left.
2103: It’s now a 1,700 majority with 10 boxes more to be counted.
2102: Pas has stretched its lead to 1,500, as it enters the home straight. Eighteen boxes more to be counted.
2058: Pas has now widened its official lead to 1,300. What a roller-coaster ride this has been!
2051: Pas has now taken a 900-majority lead, according to the official tally.
2049: Officially, Pas leads by 600 votes now.
2043: According to an unofficial Pas source, still unconfirmed, as related to an activist, Pas has won. According to another source, who just phones up, the unofficial majority is 2,700 or so. But let’s see how the official results pan out.
2031: According to unofficial sources, Pas has taken a 2,700-majority lead with over 100 boxes out of 144 counted. Officially, Pas is in the lead by 200 votes.
By-Poll Will Test Political Drift
By Anil Netto
KUALA TERENGGANU, Jan 16 (IPS) – Following the political tsunami in March, which propelled a disparate opposition alliance to power in five of 13 Malaysian states, voters in the capital of oil-rich Terengganu state will determine Saturday if an ‘east coast monsoon’ will drive the alliance closer to national power.
This key parliamentary by-election in itself will not change anything as the ruling coalition holds a 137-82 majority over the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (People’s Alliance) in Parliament.
But it is hugely symbolic since Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is leading the ruling Barisan Nasional’s campaign, is seeking to use by-election to hammer home his credentials as prime minister-in-waiting.
Full story here.
The BN uses a stadium that could fill 20,000 for its last big ceramah last night, complete with a stage for an open-air concert. But just about 3,000 turn up during the time we were there between 9.00pm and 10.00pm
Among the speakers urging the crowd to support the BN is Hishamuddin Hussein.
I finally solve the mystery of the Information Department trailer. You see the vehicle partly hidden by the the bus? See the stripes? This appears to be the same trailer that we spotted parked in town a couple of days ago.
I stroll up the field closer to the vehicle and discover that paper has been stuck on the side of the vehicle to cover up the name of the department to which the trailer belongs. Similarly, other lorries and pick-ups have paper stuck on the sides to cover up the names of organisations.
This was the trailer we spotted in town a couple of days ago.
Why do they plaster paper on the sides of the vehicles used for events like this – unless they are trying to cover up something: the abuse of government property for election campaigning?
Pakatan supporters in upbeat mood ahead of the polls: this was the scene at a main road in KT at around 4.00pm, when Pas, DAP and PKR supporters waved at passing motorists. Among the enthusiastic road-side flag-wavers were bloggers from KL and activists from the PJ Abolish ISA vigils
2010: It’s proving to be hard to call, but Pakatan supporters are quietly confident that their candidate will coast through with a 1,000 to 2,000-vote majority. A few are predicting a bigger majority. Much will depend on whether Pas can build on the support it already has.
The Pakatan campaigners are everywhere. When I take time off this evening to look up the house I lived in when I was seven along Jalan Cerong Lanjut – I actually find the terrace house still standing, much to my delight – I notice a familiar figure walking up to the Hindu temple nearby. I take a closer look and it is Sivarasa Rasiah from PKR accompanied by a DAP activist. I stroll back to the old house and promptly run into a couple more DAP activists, who are making the rounds.
1100: We return to the same cafe where we had roti paun yesterday. This seems to be a happening place. Seated at the table by the entrace, a couple of Pas volunteers are working on a laptop. They have also blown small green Pas balloons which bob around.
Inside the crowded cafe, the sound of chatter fills the air. People are reading the Chinese newspapers. At a table near us, a Chinese guy is looking at the front page of the latest Suara Keadilan, with the headline “Najib bohong” about the Permatang Pauh pledges.
Here’s a protest against what’s happening in Gaza that you wouldn’t have seen in the mainstream media.