Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Mahathir in Seremban.

21.3.2018.


Maulud had whatsapp'ed me about Pakatan Harapan's Ceramah Perdana at Betaria Business Centre, Seremban, on Sunday, 18th. March, starting from 8.30 p.m., with Mahathir as the centre of attention, but I'd forgotten about it until that morning when Raob mentioned it at the golf club's reception counter. Of course I went. One, because I'm a supporter, and two, I wanted to see the crowd.

There were a few snafus. The sudden drizzle; the record track loss on the theme song; the cutting-off of the air-balloons from the two banners. But the drizzle was brief. The mc quickly switched over on the mike. And nobody seemed to notice the balloons floating away, leaving the banners behind.

When I arrived around 8 and parked my car at Centrepoint, the  shopping complex close by, others were also arriving in numbers. I saw young Chinese men and women, middle-aged Indian men, and young Malays of both sexes gathering, looking for parking space, and walking briskly to the venue for the forum. The GE has not been announced, but this sure looked like it. I emphasize the relative youthfulness of those I saw coming, because this is significant for a Malaysian GE. The youth has always shown apathy  in the past. And that all 3 major races were there in numbers is significant, too.

As a supporter I was hoping for a good crowd. In fact, there was a huge one, given the venue and the scant publicity, and that this was a private, not governmental event. The entire area designated in the empty street was filled up. The shop corridors on both sides had standing room only. The rest of the space remaining were filled up, and people were standing and sitting on the road and the road divider facing the big screen, following what was going on. Cars and vans and motorcycles were double-parked on both sides of Jalan Dato' Siamang Gagap from the Centerpoint Shopping Complex to the traffic lights at the Sikamat junction.

This was the second Mahathir's visit I'd attended in Seremban, the first one at Ampangan last year. I tell you, the old man still has pulling power.

If  GE14 is run honestly, if at all, I think BN has a lot to worry about, just looking at this one Ceramah Perdana. Negri's Mat Hasan is reported to have said that the youth should "turn the tables" in NS. Actually he used the Malay words "terbalikkan meja". I know what it means. I don't know if Negri's Mat Hasan meant it that way. But "turning the table" is reversing the existing position. BN is in power in NS right now. Turning the table on that means changing the government - from BN to others !

I give it to the old man. It's entirely because of him that Najib has ordered the ROS not to approve the registeration of Pakatan Harapan, and has even threatened to deregister Bersatu. A disjointed opposition works in favour of the BN. Only PAS has supported Najib (at least Hadi has) but 21 seats out of 222 in Parliament, and 82 seats out of 587 in the States don't carry much clout. Without a single united opposition headed by someone like Mahathir, Najib has a better chance of retaining power. Or so he thinks.

The last time UMNO's 88 ( 14 from Sabah ) had 7 MCA, 4 MIC, 1 Gerakan, and a massive 33 from Sabah & Sarawak to hold 133 seats in Parliament, but 59.9 % is the worst performance in the 54-year history of the Malaysian GE's up to that time. But BN clung to power.

But the table could be turned, Mat.


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