Pakatan Draws 10000 in-last-pitch-for-hulu-selangor

From http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/61176

KUALA KUBU BARU — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) brought out its stars last night in a last pitch for Datuk Zaid Ibrahim to win the key Hulu Selangor by-election, exhorting a record 10,000-strong crowd to vote for change.

Repeating the same message that won them the federal seat in 2008 by a slim 198 votes, PR leaders ended their eight-day campaign by telling voters to reject Barisan Nasional’s (BN) despotic and corrupt rule in favour of Zaid.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, whose arrival was greeted zealously, turned on the heat by greeting the sea of supporters with a swipe at Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1 Malaysia.

“Selamat malam 1 Malaysia,” he said to loud laughter from the sea of humanity packed in the Kuala Kubu Baru stadium. “I want to tell the prime minister this: this is the real 1 Malaysia,” said Lim, referring to racially diverse crowd.

The DAP secretary-general, who has made almost daily visits to campaign for Zaid, said that sending the PKR candidate to the Dewan Rakyat instead of MIC information officer P. Kamalanathan would be the first few steps for change.

“We want him to win because we want to continue to gain support to realise our objective of ousting BN and capturing Putrajaya,” said Lim, adding that PR would replace the ruling federal coalition with a people-oriented government.

Zaid, who spoke to the crowd after Lim gave a spirited speech, added to the Penang CM’s call for a national movement for change.


“Previously, we were colonised by foreigners. Today we are colonised by those whom you voted for. We need to liberate ourselves from them, a cruel pharaoh government,” he fired.

The highlight of the event was PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, who had rushed in from Mecca to boost PR’s flagging campaign for Zaid.

It is understood that more than half of the crowd for the final ceramah were PAS supporters as most had come from outside the constituency to hear their revered leader speak.

Unlike Zaid and Lim, the Kelantan mentri besar was in his usual “silent strength” mode, soft but sharply attacking the BN lynchpin Umno as evil personified.

“I believe in unity. When then premier Razak, the father of Najib, asked Dr Asri to join Umno, we did in the name of unity,” he declared, referring to then-PAS president Datuk Asri Mohd Muda who led the party to help form BN in 1974 with then-Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein.

“But when Umno was strong, they kicked us out,” said Nik Aziz, adding in English: “I know who you are.”


The crowd cheered and were stunned by his statement as the 79-year-old cleric seldom if not at all speaks in English.

Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who came in on a motorcycle through the traffic-congested streets leading to the stadium, was the last speaker who stuck to his campaign speech, attacking APCO Worldwide, the public relations company hired by the government that has been accused of links to Israel.

Anwar has been referred to Parliament’s Rights and Privileges Committee for misleading MPs over APCO’s duties and links to Israel which the company denies.