TV PAKATAN RAKYAT

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 18 – Malaysia’s opposition today hailed a victory in a parliamentary by-election, declaring it showed strengthening support for its campaign to topple the government nearly a year after landmark national polls. Opposition leaders and analysts also said Saturday’s win by Pas in Kuala Terengganu was a vote of no-confidence for Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, just three months before he takes over as premier.

The Islamic party, which is part of a three-member opposition alliance led by former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, defeated the National Front coalition with a significant majority of 2,631 votes, the Election Commission said. This reversed the government’s 628 majority in general elections last March. The seat fell vacant after the incumbent, a National Front member, died in November.

Anwar said the victory, which increased opposition seats in Parliament to 83, showed momentum for political reform had gained strength, after his People’s Alliance won a third of parliamentary seats and control of five states in national polls last year. “The victory is proof that the people are still thirsty for change,” he said in a statement.

The by-election results will not change the National Front’s control of Parliament, where it still has a comfortable majority. But Saturday’s defeat nevertheless dealt a blow to the government, which had hoped to recapture support after its losses last year. It was the second consecutive electoral loss after Anwar won a by-election in September to return to Parliament as opposition leader after a 10-year enforced absence. “The results are disastrous for Najib. This was a battle between an incoming prime minister, Najib, and a wannabe prime minister, Anwar. Najib will be much weaker when he takes power,” said James Chin, a political science professor at Monash University in Malaysia.

KUALA TERENGGANU, Jan 17 — Campaigning ceased at midnight yesterday for an important by-election in the parliamentary constituency of Kuala Terengganu ahead of voting later today. The election is essentially a contest between Datuk Wan Farid Salleh of Umno and Abdul Wahid Endut from the opposition Pas and, although it will be close, most analysts are scenting an opposition victory. In the March 8 general election, Umno beat off Pas by 620 votes.

The reason could lie with the Chinese community which has traditionally leaned towards the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition in previous elections in the Malay-majority state. The BN is a 13-party coalition dominated by Umno.This time, however, various issues including dissatisfaction over the rising cost of living and the stunning showing by the Opposition in the March 8 general election may have conspired to push many of them into the Opposition's arms. Indeed, analysts agree that the Chinese vote could be crucial. They comprise 11 per cent of the constituency's 80,000-odd voters and both parties agree that the Malay vote could be split down the middle.

Mustafa Ali, the Pas operation director, told reporters that all he was sure was that “each party has at least 40 per cent Malay support” indicating that he wasn't sure which way the remaining 20 per cent would lean towards. Thus, a decisive swing towards the Opposition by the Chinese — which seems to be the probable outcome — could tip the balance.

KUALA TERENGGANU, Jan 16 - Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday turned the tables on Barisan Nasional (BN) and demanded that Umno explain why it is creating fear over hudud laws. "Why is Umno silent? Why is Umno causing fear over hudud?" he asked at an event yesterday attended by a large Malay crowd in Kuala Terengganu. He said it was for Umno to explain its stand on hudud - the Islamic penal code that prescribes punishments like amputation of limbs for robbery - and why it was making this into an issue of fear.

This change of tack came after 10 days of campaigning in the Kuala Terengganu by-election, during which the BN played up the hudud issue, leaving the opposition on the defensive. Hudud is the weak link in the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition as Parti Islam SeMalaysia (Pas) has pledged to implement it if it came to power, while the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party (DAP) opposes it. DAP chairman Karpal Singh said the party would pull out of the coalition if Pas insisted on hudud. Anwar has taken a strictly neutral stand, saying hudud would apply only to Muslims and, even then, it would first be discussed by all Pakatan partners. "It has never been the intention of Pas to introduce legislation that will affect non-Muslims," Anwar said.

He and other top Pakatan leaders are in town for the last lap of the campaign for tomorrow's by-election, which was called after the Umno MP Razali Ismail died last November. Umno"s Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh is facing PAS" Abdul Wahid Endut and an independent. BN tailors its messages to the respective races. To the Chinese, who make up 11 per cent of the 80,229 voters, it warns that Pas would eventually dominate the opposition to the detriment of non-Muslims. To the Malays, who make up 88 per cent, Umno says DAP is blocking the implementation of hudud and has forced Pas to tone down its principles.

Hudud does not seem to be a major issue among the Chinese. A survey by independent pollster Merdeka Centre showed that half the Chinese said the issue was important, but 37 per cent said the matter had been exploited by the media to deter them from voting for PAS.

Every time opposition MP Teresa Kok campaigns in the Chinese waterfront village in Kuala Terengganu, she is halted every few steps for a photograph. The DAP MP became a celebrity after being arrested under the Internal Security Act over claims that she had complained about noise from the azan (call to prayer) from a mosque. She denied the allegations.
Voters have obviously not forgotten the controversial arrests of Kok, a Chinese press reporter and blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, who is also a major hit as he hits the campaign trail here. The September arrest had particularly angered the Chinese. But in a twist of fate, they are now being assiduously courted in the Kuala Terengganu by-election to be held on Jan 17 after the MP from the ruling Umno died in November. “The Chinese could be the kingmakers,” Kok told The Straits Times.

That is why she and other prominent Chinese opposition leaders have made a beeline for this small seaside town to secure the Chinese vote for Pas candidate Abdul Wahid Endut. He is standing against Umno's Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh and an independent. The Chinese comprise only 11 per cent of the 80,229 voters, but analysts suggest they hold the key to victory. The 88 per cent Malay voters are believed to be split, with Pas having a slight edge over Umno.

Political analyst Ong Kian Ming's study of the March general election showed that the non-Malay support for Barisan Nasional, the ruling coalition, was 64 per cent, compared to 47 per cent for the Malays. Most of the Chinese are clustered in the touristy Kampong Cina by the sea. It is a picturesque area with restored pre-war shophouses, narrow lanes and an old Chinese temple at its heart.

“We just want our safety and to be able to do business,” said Tan Choon Bee, 53, who runs a Nonya restaurant. Like many Chinese, she is tight-lipped about politics. But there are hints. One was a well-attended dinner on Tuesday evening with DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang, Raja Petra, Kok and other opposition leaders. Five hundred people turned up, paying RM30 each for the event. A few hundred others stood outside the hall to listen to the speeches. “The dinner was organised in just two days,” said DAP MP Liew Chin Tong.

When Kok hosted a lunch for 100 Chinese voters, the donations were almost enough to cover the cost. The outpouring of donations during the March general election was one of the signs of the political tsunami that swept BN from its iron-grip dominance. BN is working as hard. Its Chinese leaders are going from door to door, and some Umno leaders are also venturing into Kampong Cina. Two days ago, Wan Farid accompanied Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said to give away hampers to elderly Chinese.

The Chinese in Kuala Terengganu have always been pro-BN, largely because of their wariness of Pas. This sentiment, however, may sway now with the onslaught of high-profile Chinese opposition campaigners. “Without 'interference', we are safe. But with the influence of the opposition members who twist facts, people might be affected emotionally,” Terengganu's only Chinese assemblyman, Toh Chin Yaw, told The Straits Times. This is even though more than half of the 8,787 Chinese voters in Kuala Terengganu are members of the MCA, a senior partner of BN.

CERAMAH MEGA ANWAR IBRAHIM
part 1


part 2


part 3


CERAMAH MEGA NIK AZIZ
part 1


part 2


part 3


CERAMAH MEGA HAJI HADI AWANG
part 1


part 2


part 3


CERAMAH MEGA ZAHAR HASYIM (BEKAS KETUA UMNO PJ)


CERAMAH MEGA LIM KIT SIANG


Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim drew parallels last night between the conflict in Gaza and what he called the sufferings of Malaysians as he hit the campaign trail at a mammoth rally attended by thousands here. Attempting to touch a sensitive chord among the mainly Muslim constituency here, he accused Umno, the main party in the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, of acting like Israel. "The leadership is busy collecting wealth. While Israel is punishing the Palestinian people for choosing Hamas, it is no different from Umno punishing Malaysians for choosing the Pakatan Rakyat," he told a ceramah here on the first day of campaigning for the Kuala Terengganu by-election.

Thousands of local residents had gathered to listen to a star-studded Pakatan Rakyat (PR) rally here where besides Anwar, the DAP's Lim Kit Siang and Pas president Hadi Awang were also among the top draws. The flag-waving crowd cheered loudly during Anwar's speech, punctuated with shouts of "Allahu Akbar", which translates as "God is Great," the standard clarion cry of the Pas faithful. With a majority of Malaysia's Muslims backing the Palestinian cause, Israel's ongoing invasion of Gaza is having a major impact on domestic politics.

Setting the tone for the campaign, Anwar told the huge flag waving crowd gathered at a beach behind the Astaka shopping centre here that the problem with Umno was that it was corrupt and ignored the suffering of ordinary Malaysians. Sticking to his Gaza theme, he said: "Umno, like Israel, does not recognise the chosen Hamas leadership." Pas vice-president Husam Musa's recent remarks that his party would want to introduce Hudud, the strict Islamic code which prescribes amputation, stonning and whipping as punishment for criminal offences, had touched off criticisms from non-Muslim groups, including PR partners DAP.

While the Hudud issue has caused uneasiness in other parts of the country, it has little traction in the east coast states, where a huge majority of the population, are conservative Muslims. Still, with a tight race anticipated, both the BN and PR campaigns are mindful of the need to secure the Chinese vote, which represents around 11 per cent of voters here.

How close is the battle for Kuala Terengganu going to be? Pretty close, judging by results of a recent survey commissioned by Umno. Results of the poll in December showed that 48 per cent of the voters would support Barisan Nasional while 47 per cent were backing Parti Islam SeMalaysia (Pas). Five per cent of the voters were undecided.

But there is one caveat, and a major one at that. The polls were conducted before BN named Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh as its candidate and Pas picked Mohd Abdul Wahid Endot for the seat. Independent Azharuddin Mamat is also contesting the by-election.

Umno officials are worried that the campaign to portray Wan Ahmad Farid as an elitist politician, someone with little in common with the everyman, is gaining some traction. At a closed door briefing for branch leaders yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak reminded Wan Ahmad Farid on the power of perception and urged him to work doubly hard to get close to the voters on the ground.

Not a day has gone by in the past week without mainstream newspapers carrying photographs of the BN candidate meeting voters in humble surroundings. The implicit message is that the former Deputy Home Minister is not elitist but a man of the people. In such a close contest, he cannot afford the elitist perception to persist.

There are 80,229 voters in the constituency. An analysis of the March 8 elections won by the late Datuk Razali Ismail of BN showed that 53 per cent of the Malay vote went to Pas while 64 per cent of the Chinese vote went to BN. Chinese voters make up nearly 11 per cent of the electorate. The voter turnout on March 8 was 87 per cent.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 2 – Four-term Wakaf Mempelam assemblyman Abdul Wahid Endut, who was once challenged to a fist fight by current Terengganu mentri besar Ahmad Said, has been named Pas's candidate for the Jan 17 Kuala Terengganu by-election in an eleventh hour decision that took many by surprise.

His selection is seen as a compromise decision as rival factions in the party could not agree on either Batu Buruk assemblyman Dr Syed Azman Nawawi or state party chief Datuk Mustafa Ali. The announcement of Abdul Wahid as the Pas candidate is seen as an attempt to appease both the party’s “Erdogan” faction who are strong supporters of Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the “Ulama” group who are close to the party president. Pas will be hoping that Abdul Wahid’s candidacy will put to rest the uncertainty which has gripped the Islamist party amid factional disputes and the Barisan Nasional’s (BN) surprise early naming of heavyweight Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh as their candidate, in a move which clearly put Pas on the defensive.

Mohd Abdul Wahid, 52, is a four-term assemblyman, Kuala Terengganu PAS chief and state PAS treasurer. A Fisheries and Marine Science graduate from Universiti Putra Malaysia, he has never been defeated in the four elections he has contested. It is learnt that Abdul Wahid was not on the initial list of candidates. Nationally unknown, the 52 year old, who used to serve as a Terengganu state executive councillor, from 1999 to 2004 when Pas held the state government, is a popular party leader in the east coast state. After BN wrested the state in 2004, he remained a vocal assemblyman and once accused the BN government of allegedly being “worst than the Jews” for tearing down some a settlement. This had resulted in Ahmad, the current mentri besar who was then a state executive councillor, challenging him to a fist fight outside the state assembly.