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!
