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The moment of truth draws near

Anil Netto
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16

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

Anil Netto
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8

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

Anil Netto
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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

Anil Netto
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12

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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Pas backs Anwar for PM: Hatta

Anil Netto
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9

Pas treasurer Hatta Ramli has stressed that his party is firmly behind Anwar’s bid for the premiership.

Speaking in front of a multi-racial crowd of about 3,000 last night near low-rise low-cost flats in Seberang Jaya, he declared that the party has never wavered from its stand all these years that it would support Anwar as prime minister. (Photo credit: hattaramli.blogspot.com)

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Aliran Monthly has a digital version!

Anil Netto
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9

Here’s a treat for you! Check out the all-new digital version of Aliran Monthly. Aliran is providing the inaugural edition free to all readers in conjunction with the Permatang Pauh by-election. You can experiment and play around with the feature-rich icons inside.

Okay, I am off to Permatang Pauh now!

Meanwhile, Muhammad Firdaus Christopher shares this view from Ground Zero:

Dear Anil & readers,

I have been in P44 areas every night since 16th Aug and I can tell you that these BN … are spending … money on food, food, food. The only activity to be seen in the camps are makciks, pakciks, brothers and sisters all having some good bite (apart from talking trash). They are simply wasting … funds; no wonder they still have an outstanding mammoth bill of RM218M from 2004.

Bottomline, Datuk Seri is gaining more and more votes from the folks here…

Salam Reformasi!

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

Anil Netto
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54

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

Anil Netto
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14

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

Anil Netto
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44

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?

Anil Netto
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42

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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