The Waves of Change

“This is shocking news indeed!” said the beautiful event coordinator of NTV7 in her fluent English and pleasant voice that can rival the newscasters of CNN. “Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, Datuk Seri Samy Vellu and Datuk Seri Shahrizat were all defeated in the election.” Well, that was really shocking news to me! I too, was stunned to hear the defeat of the big guns at 10:30 p.m. yesterday, Saturday 8 March 2008.

It was a night of double excitement waiting eagerly in front of the TV for the results of the 12th General Election of Malaysia. To make matters even more exciting, the BWF Badminton Super Series All England 2008 was telecasted live simultaneously at RTM2.
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Night of the Underdogs - Hannah Yeoh

I have to switch channels just like the election coverage tossing from command centre to the various counting centres. Lee Chong Wei and veterans Chong Tan Fook – Lee Wan Wah were all crashed out in the semi-finals of the All-England badminton championship: just like the big guns in the election.

At 11:05 p.m. Datuk s. Kayveas (BN Taiping) lost
At 1:20 a.m. Jeff Ooi, the Blogger, won the Jelutong Parliamentary seat with a 16,246 votes majority.

From the huge turn-up in those ceramah conducted by the opposition parties during the 13 days of campaigning, we know the waves of change were strong. But mere turnouts can not transform into votes, the opposition candidates were wary of the repeat of past elections. However, one indication of strong support was that the donation received from the ceramah was very encouraging. As ChinYH (a pacesetters runner) said when I met him at the ceramah at USJ 12, he donated RM50 in the earlier ceramah, and that put my donation into shame.

In my constituency (Subang Jaya), as predicted based on the strength of the waves of change, the two new and young electorates won.

P104 – Loh Gwo Burne http://lohgwoburne.blogspot.com/
N31 – Hannah Yeoh http://hannahyeoh.blogspot.com/

Election ceramah - unfazed by the rain

Saturday 8 March afternoon (Election Day)

When I pumped petrol at one of the Shell stations, even the Bangladeshi attendance said, “Good afternoon Sir, you vote already?” Well, that was an excellent ice-breaker used once in every four years.

When I went to service my car at one of the Goodyear outlets in USJ, the boss just came back from voting. When we struck a conversation, he automatically and excitedly made known his full support for the opposition parties.

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Source of photos: http://www.mycen.com.my/malaysia/election2008.html

The Lesser of the Shocking News:
Extracted from Wong Chun Wai’s column in today’s Star newspaper (Sunday 9 March, page N12):

As at press time, PKR secretary-general Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim is expected to be made the new Selangor Mentri Besar and almost likely, his predecessor, the outgoing Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo, the opposition leader.

By now, most results would have been known. With the rakyat’s endorsement, the waves of change have evolved into a tsunami. After discharging our duty to vote, we must continue to be vigilant, and ensure that our elected representatives account for their actions, and make good their promises on good governance – accountability, transparency and integrity.

Okay, election fever and euphoria is almost over, we shall return to running and trekking... :-)

Posted by KC

So Close, Yet so Far

It was a cool evening after the late afternoon rain on Monday 3 March. Standing at the USJ 12 padang listening to Gobin Singh Deo’s serious yet humorous speech; watching the huge ‘pine’ tree behind the stage swaying gently in response to the breeze; hearing the unique remarks from the huge crowds in cheering the speaker, it was an incredible moment in attending the DAP ceramah before we cast our votes on 8 March 2008.

Unfortunately, while we enjoyed ourselves in Gobin’s speech, it started to drizzle at around 10 p.m. And the rain, slowly but surely, became heavy. I did not bring umbrella, so were Chin YH, Rose and her sister. Desperately, we went near to those spectators that were well prepared with their umbrellas. Despite the rain, Gobin proceeded with his speech and the number of audience did not dwindle. After a while, the whole area was covered with umbrella.

That evening, I was there early 20 minutes before the scheduled start of the ceramah. At that moment, all the seats were taken up and there were thousands of people already standing there waiting for the ceramah to start at 9 p.m. I walked around surveying the area. There were a few mobile stalls operating at the inner side of the field. There was one van that was loaded with iced can drinks. That would be a good idea to have a cold drink when the speeches were too heated up.

While walking around, Chin YH, a Pacesetter runner, spotted me. He actually came all the way from Kelana Jaya. Just like me, he also wanted to listen to Lim Kit Siang’s speech, and I believed most audience shared the same objective too. We later spotted Rose (another Pacesetters runner who live 500 meters away) and his sister.

The other main speakers in that evening were Tan Kok Wai (P123 Cheras) , Jeff Ooi (P50 Jelutong), Hanah Yeoh (Subang State Assembly) and Loh Gwo Burne (Kelana Jaya Parliamentary).

Lim Kit Siang and Jeff Ooi. Photo is from http://www.jeffooi.com/

When the rain intensified, I managed to seek partial shelter under a small umbrella meant for two persons – I was the fourth person. After a while, part of my shirt was wet. When the rain was picking up intensity, Gobin’s speech was eventually halted.

I have heard of DAP’s President, Mr. Lim Kit Siang since I was young but I have never heard his speeches before. So, it was a hard decision for me whether to stay on – to get wet – or go home.

After a while and when the situation was not getting any better, we decided to go home. With the wet shirt and when the wind blew, it was cold. I could never imagine that I actually shivered while walking to my car.

According to Rose, she and her sister went to the ceramah again when the rain had stopped at around 11 p.m. She managed to hear Mr. Lim’s speech. He explained with assurance that the opposition parties, even with the maximum seats, could only deny BN’s two-third majority.

While I communicated with a runner about the recent Ironman race in Langkawi and my repeatable visits to the election ceramah, I was labeled as Ironman also - Election Attendance Ironman. After all, being an Ironman means carrying out tasks repeatedly in order to improve the performance.

Note: Gobin Singh Deo is contesting for Parliamentary Seat P103 Puchong. Part of USJ constituency is aligned into Puchong.

Written by KC

More Punches at the DAP Ceramah

Note: According to announcement, Lim Kit Siang will be delivering his speech on Monday 9:00 p.m., 3 March at USJ 12 (the same location below). Click here for more details.
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It was a night of interesting and delightful (and at times, fiery) speeches delivered by the opposition candidates, much to the amazement and amusement of the audience (rakyat). According to the schedule, MCA and the DAP were having their election ceramah same time on Saturday 1 March, both at Subang Jaya but at different location.

Unlike what I read in the newspaper (by Wong Chun Wai in Star newspaper, Friday 29 Feb) that two ceramah in Penang were separated only by a street where the rakyat can shuffle around and exchange notes. Possibly, if they were to stand in-between, they may even hear from both sides.

The MCA was having their ceramah at USJ 11 whereas the opposition party was having their ceramah at USJ 12, about 1 km away – No! Not likely that they can hear each other’s manifestation.

After hearing MCA’s ceramah once last Wednesday (27 Feb), I decided to go to the opposition party’s, which is more interesting. When I arrived at the scene at 9:10 p.m., as usual, I could only find car parking very far away. Walking towards the padang (which is a football field), I could see other rakyat were walking swiftly in the same direction. The ceramah has already started, presumably, started on time at 9:00 p.m.

The crowds there were even bigger this time, possibly about 5,000 people; I believe it doubled the size of the ceramah at SS 18 on Wedn 27 Feb.

According to the Master of Ceremony, there were seven speakers that evening, much to the satisfaction of the rakyat who wanted to listen more of the “korek, korek, korek” (correct) speeches.

The main speakers were Nurul Izah binti Anwar (Anwar Ibrahim’s daughter), Tony Pua, Hannah Yeoh, Haris Ibrahim, Loh Gwo Burne (PKR Kelana Jaya Parlimentary candidate), Teng Chang Khim (N44 Sungai Pinang State seat), Teresa Kok (N30 Kinrara State seat).

As usual, there was much applause and cheers. The speakers engaged the rakyat very well and the responses from rakyat were amusing too.

During Tony Pua’s speech, we could hear the honk and loud sound of motorbikes. When the attention of the crowd was focused at the motorcyclists, one guy shouted, “BN Mat Rempit!” much to the amusement of others. It turned out that it was the arrival of Nurul Izah binti Anwar.

Loh Gwo Burne (the person who filmed Lingam’s video) gave a rather interesting opening of his speech: he started to introduce his father and two brothers. Then he called out the name of his brother, Gwo Pong. So he quipped, “If you see one that look like him, and sound like him, that is my brother!” much to the cheers of the audience.

Of all the speakers that evening, Mr. Teng Chang Khim’s speech really captivated the audience with his polished and humorous speeches, and witty remarks. Being the state assembly man for two terms, he could relate to us his experiences, where other speakers could not touch on.

He said when Pak Lah took over the helm of the Administration, he would be catching 18 big fishes. So far, he managed to catch two of them (of which one is Perwaja Steel chief, Tan Sri Eric Chia who could walk only with the help of wheelchair). However, the other 16 big fishes were still not able to catch. Over time, the small fishes have also grown up to become big fishes. The analogy was funny and the rakyat gave a resounding cheers.

He quoted Chinese Premier Deng Xiao Ping’s famous quotes: Whether or not it is a white cat or a black cat, as long as it can catch rats, then it is a good cat. He added on by saying that (his version): Whether or not it is a male cat or a female cat (referring to Hanah Yeoh), as long as it can catch rats, then it is a good cat. That extended quotes really draw much applauses.

The rakyat were standing there for three hours, wanted to listen to more interesting stories. Since it was 12 mid-night, the ceramah ended abruptly, much like the Cinderella story.
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Note: the photos are extracted from http://www.usj.com.my/

Written by KC

Election Ceramah

"Do you want change?" The eloquent speaker asked the upbeat crowd. "Y-E-S!" The audience responded with enthusiasm.

"Will you vote for change?" "Y-E-S!" The response was even louder.

"Will you vote for Hannah Yeoh?" The audience responded with much resounding "Y-E-S"!

Part of the members in the audience was heard quipping, "We also love her... "

Such was the lively atmosphere at a DAP ceramah conducted in Subang Jaya on Wednesday evening, 27 February.

The heat of election is intensifying. It is indeed fun and interesting to attend the ceramah and listening to their speeches, particularly the opposition ones. After all, this opportunity comes only once in 4-5 years.

I went to two ceramah yesterday evening (Wedn 27 Feb): first to the ceramah conducted by MCA at USJ Goodyear Court 9 and later went to DAP's at SS 18, which is about 10km apart.

The size of the crowd at the ceramah is a big contrast: about 200 at the BN while the Opposition's command huge crowd (possibly about 3,000).

The Opposition party has many key points to address and their speeches are very interesting and convincing (and entertaining). The audience cheered and responded with "korek, korek, korek" (meant to be "correct" in emulating Lingam's response) much to the amusement of others. I could see smiling faces on most of the audience.

While MCA candidates delivered their speeches that are interwoven in Bahasa, English and Mandarin, the DAP candidates delivered them only in fluent English.

The next ceramah at Subang Jaya is this Saturday evening, 1 March, at USJ 12 padang (football field) at 9:00 p.m. Do check in Edward Ling's weblog (below) for more information.

http://edwardling.blogspot.com/

If you would like to check schedule of other ceramah, you may want to visit Opposition’s website:

http://dapmalaysia.org/newenglish/

Please don't get me wrong, I am not influencing that you should vote certain political party. Just attend the ceramah with your friends - to be entertained and be amused - on a Saturday evening, much like watching World Cup.

Since the padang is huge, some enterprising mamak could set up tables and chairs and offer for sale of roti canai and teh tarik. I am sure that would be very good business.
Hannah Yeoh - Both photos above are extracted from her weblog

P104 Kelana Jaya (Parliamentary Seat)
1. Lee Hwa Beng (MCA)
2. Loh Gwo Burne (Keadilan)

N31 Subang Jaya (State Seat)
1. Ong Chong Swen (MCA)
2. Hannah Yeoh Tseow Suan (DAP)

BN Ceramah

Representing BN is MCA and the candidates are Lee Hwa Beng (parliamentary seat) and Mdm Ong Chong Swen (state seat).

LeeHB's main points were that he is a committed person, full time in politics and has done a lot for the folks of Subang Jaya.

Mdm Ong's main points were that there is progress and development (even in rural area like Ichuk); Malaysia is a peaceful country with diverse culture and choice of food; she has the time and capability to do her job.

There was not much excitement and cheers.

DAP Ceramah

When I arrived near to the venue (a football field) at 10:15 p.m., it took me a while to find a space to park my car. When I went near the stage, there were about 3,000 people there! At that moment I saw one young Chinese guy in round-collar white T-shirt was enthusiastically addressing the crowd – speaking with conviction about the current issues of BN not performing up to the mark. The audience responded positively in supporting the points. I thought that he was Loh Gwo Burne (Keadilan for the Parliamentary seat). When I asked those standing next to me, they also don't know the guy. That was really a humorous moment.

Then, another young Indian guy went up to speak bombarding the current issues that we are encountering. After that, only the real speaker, Hannah Yeoh, took the center stage. She is young and pretty; at 29 years old, she is a lawyer by profession.

Later, Teresa Kok from Seputeh (strong DAP lady; gauged by the cheers of audience and the popularity) came to lend a hand followed by another expressive speaker of DAP, Tony Pua. The ceremah ended at 12 mid-night.

BTW, the young Chinese guy in round-collar T-shirt is Edward Ling (with blog above) who is assisting Hannah Yeoh.

Written by KC