On the Segamat Ceramah Experience *updated*

Now, yesterday 24 April 2013, I was in Segamat to attend to a customer who is also a friend. He asked me to come down to Segamat specifically because there will be a major ceramah involving DSAI in Segamat at Padang Kg. Abdullah in the middle of town. So naturally I said ok and I made the journey down there. As I was alone and only armed with a Iphone 4 which the camera quality is deteriorated, I couldn't take any photos along the way.

What I can tell you is the Star Reporter got it all wrong: Banners were sprouting everywhere and Bilik Gerakan for both sides of the divide quite active putting up more. Some important intersections were full of banners, fish tails and long banners alike. And for a 'sleepy' town like Segamat, election fever has hit the people there hard like anywhere else. 

So round 1 was tea time and my friend's friend came with a sticker of 'No to Lynas' on his shirt. We were engaged in an animated discussion of politics and election, exchanging news and were leaning on the fact that it looks like Pakatan is having the edge in Segamat. However, we leave that till we see the crowd in the ceramah that night. 

So later my friend picked me up and then we go had dinner nearby the padang (the fried kueh tiaw with sauce is good). After dinner at about 9 pm we walked across the road and joined the ceramah.

Ho and behold: the crowd was big for Segamat standard! At the time we joined the crowd we estimated to be about 5 - 10 thousand people already present. Speaker after speaker goes up and speak and one that had my attention and to my surprise a good speaker is Cikgu Normala of PAS. She is the DUN candidate for Pemanis and also the ex-candidate for Tenang by-election (remember the flood on the day of the election: she is the poor soul I thought was a victim of the weather and lost the by-election by a bigger margin then). 

She is a good speaker and she has a clear and direct voice which for me is a first as generally very few women from PAS are prominent in the ceramah circuit. She is quite young and fiesty and according to my friend, she got guts and have substance and she is very friendly. She hammered the points home one after the other and I thought she is one of the better speakers of the night. 

As the night wore on, the crowd grew. From the earlier estimates it probably swell to a good 15 thousand although some say as many as 20 - 30 thousand that night. Hard to estimate as it is night time. But a very big crowd, the largest in recent history in Segamat for a political ceramah where NO FREE FOOD OR GOODIES. I wonder if BN can do the same with the same conditions. 

Salahuddin Ayub and Chua Jui Meng were the two last speakers before DSAI arrived. They fired up the crowd and got it going. Salahuddin endeared himself with the Chinese by saying that his mother is Chinese. He was hammering home the point that he will defend all the races and the constitution in regards to religion, special rights and the rights of the other minorities. One very articulate speaker and a possible good candidate for MB if they ever win Johor.

 Chua was quite a good speaker though not as smooth as Salahuddin and were actually trying to get the crowd fired up before the finale. So, when DSAI walked in the crowd roared with approval. I can feel the mood of the crowd changed into expectations that something great is happening. It gives me the creeps and yet it also gave hope that people have finally found someone else other than from UMNO to lead this country. Malays, Chinese and Indians were all present in good numbers, young, old, women and children too. 

DSAI went into his speech with gusto and repeating the familiar things I have heard over the past days over the online tv ceramahs by him. However, for the Segamat folks, some of them hearing for the first time. They lap up every word he says, laugh at every jokes he poked at his adversaries, listened intently when he outlines what he wants to do when he becomes Prime Minister. I believe that night alone many fence sitters would have been convinced by him and many more will in turn spread what he said.

All in all, it was a tiring but satisfying night. To see that crowds like this has never been seen in an UMNO-BN stronghold attending Pakatan ceramah, it is a feeling that something might just happen on 5th May 2013. 

Oh ya. On a lighter note, the pasar malam people are really tailing the Pakatan Ceramah like how the Digi Yellow Man....'I will follow you, follow you wherever you may goooo...'. Poor owner of Sekinchan Ikan Bakar who mentioned that hawkers lost business. They have ROARING business yesterday night!

MCA FT Sing-a-long VS Ubah Song (Pakatan Rakyat)

So who you think sings better? I think the answer is very clear. LOL.

Why PKR and PAS has to clash in 6 state and 1 parliament seats?

I really do not understand why PKR and PAS has to do that. After all both are in the same coalition. I believe that since they thought putrajaya is possible, they want as many candidates as possible in case they made it. Also, local warlords also want their share of the seats. 

I hope in those seats they get punished. Just to show that the rakyat means business when it comes to quarrels over seats as if the rakyat is not important but their own agenda.

A FAINT HOPE WHICH ENDURE

As I write this, the series of events that unfold in the last 2 days really turn heads. ROS has refused to retract the letter that states the fact that ROS does not recognized the CEC leadership of DAP therefore directly impacting the ability of DAP to authorize letter to approve the use of the Rocket symbol to its candidates. If this happens before 308, then DAP will have to make all its candidates stand as Independents and therefore crippled before the fight began. 

Today, I see the real meaning of true partnerships and brotherhood between the 3 parties in Pakatan, DAP, PAS and PKR. They may have quarreled, fought over seats, disagreed on policies and beliefs, etc, etc, but in the face of adversity, the other two partners immediately stepped in and offered assistance. In this time of adversity, DAP will use PAS logo in peninsular Malaysia while PKR logo is used in East Malaysia. 

Something probably never would exist in many people's wildest dreams / nightmares. I believe this is all part of something greater and those who plotted the fall of DAP will now have to pray hard that the use of the 2 other logos will help BN. If not, it will be the 'game-changer' as mentioned by LKS. To see his tears brings tears to many of us as he lived, breathed the party and its symbol for as long as he can remember. To be unable to use it really can break a man's heart. 

I believed that one of the reasons that this could have happen is the fact that Lim Guan Eng and Mat Sabu shared a great friendship and brotherhood forged in the fires of persecution and the fact that Anwar worked so hard to forge this disparate group of people into one cohesive alliance (no matter how much differences they have because BN has the same issues too) after going through the hell he went through since 1990s. These are just few of those I can mention. Many more stories of comradeship and friendship among these three parties are left untold.

The hope that this is a start to something bigger and better and that we finally see a change in Pakatan for good. So, my family, friends and countrymen, Believe in hope however faint it is, believe in change. UBAH!

STOP QUARELLING AND SQUABBLING!

Now, the one thing i dislike about the Pakatan side is the squabbling over the seats. I can understand that everyone wants a shot at it but they have to put that aside and have the greater good of malaysia in mind. Once upon a time no one wants to stand but now everyone wants!

*Sigh* Hopefully they can sort out this ASAP and prevent any negative spillover effects on the support of the voters.

BTW, EC is meeting tomorrow to decide the dates....until then the prediction of dates continue.

The one example of 'creative' campaign strategies especially by DAP in the face of unequal access to media and the overuse of government machineries to campaign by BN. The other notable strategy is to introduce a campaign mascot in the form of 'Ubah', a hornbill:

 

The bird was an instant hit among Sarawakians when it first surfaced during the Sarawak State Election couple of years back. Totally sold out within a week, it reflects the changing of times where adorable mascots, rock-concert-like atmosphere and heavy duty ceramahs everyday all over the state with current leaders and also youth and upcoming members taking the center stage. 

The current addition is the use of mobile stages which are basically trailers or back of lorries or a bus (in PKR's case). This allows mobility and reduce the hassle of building a stage at every spot. Rather, a public space or car park will suffice. 

Not to lose out MCA also has a few of their own

 

In short, many new ideas are emerging. Of course there are some parties who ape what the other does or who are leading the way. The successful campaign strategies apart from the online running battles between BN and Pakatan are changing the landscape of politics in Malaysia. The usual tried and tested methods of house to house and ceramah alone may not work. The strategists of both sides need to be on their toes to come up with more creative ideas to stay ahead, especially when a significant number are young voters.