Last night I attended a talk organised by Pakatan Rakyat at the SS3/14 Community Hall near my house. It was touted as a "Program Pemimpin Bersama Rakyat Sempena Hari Pekerja' (Leaders with the People Programme Inconjunction with Labour Day). It was scheduled to start at 9pm so I decided to beat the crowd and left home at 815pm. When I arrived, the hall was empty so I visited the 10 odd stalls to while the time away.
The stalls are largely the same as during the campaign talk at Sungai Way in Mar 08, with some vendors selling drinks, boiled peanuts (kacang rebus), Malaysian style kebabs, a guy selling sinus (resdung) medicine, another dude selling massage oil (minyak urut), and 6 vendors selling VCD's of previous talks and t-shirts. I bought myself a black t-shirt with PKR's logo that looks like a Superman logo, 3 VCD's and a RM2 pass.
Before going in I stood outside the entrance and was approached by 3 very polite Chinese gentlemen, who asked about the speakers expected. From our lively discussion on past ceramahs, I found out that these gentlemen live closeby, and we had a whale of a time comparing notes on the transgressions committed by the old guard. It was also acknowledged by all that the talk organised by Pakatan Rakyat can never be possible before the tsunami hit our political shores. It was nice to see PAS supporters wearing skull caps working hand in hand with their allies from PKR and DAP in making last minute arrangements. Isn't this the true essence of what being a Malaysian is all about, the muhibbah spirit that transends race and religion that is all too lacking in our present society?
The stalls are largely the same as during the campaign talk at Sungai Way in Mar 08, with some vendors selling drinks, boiled peanuts (kacang rebus), Malaysian style kebabs, a guy selling sinus (resdung) medicine, another dude selling massage oil (minyak urut), and 6 vendors selling VCD's of previous talks and t-shirts. I bought myself a black t-shirt with PKR's logo that looks like a Superman logo, 3 VCD's and a RM2 pass.
Before going in I stood outside the entrance and was approached by 3 very polite Chinese gentlemen, who asked about the speakers expected. From our lively discussion on past ceramahs, I found out that these gentlemen live closeby, and we had a whale of a time comparing notes on the transgressions committed by the old guard. It was also acknowledged by all that the talk organised by Pakatan Rakyat can never be possible before the tsunami hit our political shores. It was nice to see PAS supporters wearing skull caps working hand in hand with their allies from PKR and DAP in making last minute arrangements. Isn't this the true essence of what being a Malaysian is all about, the muhibbah spirit that transends race and religion that is all too lacking in our present society?
The muhibbah theme is again amplified by the speaker line-up for the evening with YB Nik Nazmi (PKR DUN Seri Setia), YB Dr Hatta Mohd Ramli (PAS), YB Ronnie Liu (DAP EXCO Selangor DUN Pandamaran), YB Nurul Izzah (PKR DUN LEmbah Pantai), Ybhg Ustaz Misbahul Munir Masduki (Political Secretary to MB Perak), YBhg Ustaz Ramli Sidom (PAS), YB Lau Weng Sun(DAP Kg Tunku) and YBhg Mr Arun (Kelab Penyokong PAS Puchong).
The talk started off with Ust Ramli Sidom taking the lectern, where he gave an interesting run-down of what has taken place in Selangor, from a PAS and Pakatan Rakyat perspective. He then invited Mr Arun to speak, who is an Indian and represents Kelab Penyokong PAS Puchong!! Arun provided an interesting insight on why such a club exists, and described his recent trip to Kelantan where he met Tok Guru Nik Aziz and managed to kiss his hand. The audience by this time warmed to him, and his emphatic speech, half of which was in Tamil, drew warm applause and cheers from us. He stressed that the key principle that Tok Guru asked him to hold true is 'kebajikan, kebajikan and kebajikan'(welfare, welfare and welfare). Only through this will the Indians open their hearts to supporting a party that will support them at their time of need.
Arun then passed the microphone to YB Nik Nazmi, who updated us on what he has done as MP for Seri Setia, as well as his activities as Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim's Political Secretary. He is obviously busy, but comes across as an intelligent, level headed and mature your man, with a thought provoking and well designed blog to his credit. Lau Weng Sun (DUN Kg Tunku) was next, and started off by thanking the rakyat for being brave and not voting along racial lines, which was the norm in past elections. He highlighted certain issues in his constituency and promised to resolve them with the help of the State Govt to show the rakyat that our trust is not taken for granted.
Next up was Ust Muhibul (MB Perak's Political Secretary), who gave a witty account of what happened in Perak. Since the resounding win, the Perak MB has received numerous speaking invitations and Ust Muhibul said to please give his boss 100 days so that the new Perak Government can plan programmes, search for lost files, study past contracts etc. YB Ronnie Liu (Exco Selangor and MP Pandamaran) was next and started off by promising that the fiasco involving the RM9.9 million BALKIS funds will be thoroughly investigated. He lamented that till today, even though police reports have been filed, no investigations has commenced as yet. He also explained his role as Selangor Exco and MP for Pandamaran, and touched on issues like eradicating corruption and poverty in his areas.
The MC then proceeded to invite Makkal Sathy supporters in the audience on stage to give each of the speakers a floral garland. The audience gave each speaker thunderous applause and the loudest was saved for Nurul Izzah, who in fact received the largest floral garland I've ever seen, which must have measured close to 5 feet long!!
Nurul Izzah was next who was met with warm applause. Being the rose among the thorns, her aura and sense of presence on stage did not go un-noticed, and caused a hush over the audience. I believe many people were not only taken aback by her slight frame and stunning good looks, but more so her polite demeanour, excellent oratory skills (just like her father), and her passion for what she believes in. It went dead quiet when she described what went through her mind during her swearing in at Parliament recently, as well as the last 6-7 years when Dato Seri Anwar was still in jail.
Last but certainly not least was Dr Hatta (PAS) who not only woke the audience up with his witty one liners, he also made us realise just how corrupt and power hungry UMNO-BN really is, which is why they are such sore loosers after their defeat in 5 States. When commenting on the recent demonstrations that he and YB Ronnie Liu helped organise, he added that they only know how to get people to come together, but left the Police to ask the crowd to disperse!! The talk ended at 1230 am and the audience left with a feeling that our decision to shun UMNO-BN was a correct one. I managed to shake YB Ronnie Liu's hand and asked him to keep up the good work.
My sincere hope is that the rakyat in the other ignorant states can see the changes happening in the Pakatan Rakyat administered states, and will defect to us in the next general elections. The talk gave me a boost in terms of my conviction that all's well in Selangor, however, I'd like to see the changes that they talk about with my own eyes just to be on the safe side.
The talk started off with Ust Ramli Sidom taking the lectern, where he gave an interesting run-down of what has taken place in Selangor, from a PAS and Pakatan Rakyat perspective. He then invited Mr Arun to speak, who is an Indian and represents Kelab Penyokong PAS Puchong!! Arun provided an interesting insight on why such a club exists, and described his recent trip to Kelantan where he met Tok Guru Nik Aziz and managed to kiss his hand. The audience by this time warmed to him, and his emphatic speech, half of which was in Tamil, drew warm applause and cheers from us. He stressed that the key principle that Tok Guru asked him to hold true is 'kebajikan, kebajikan and kebajikan'(welfare, welfare and welfare). Only through this will the Indians open their hearts to supporting a party that will support them at their time of need.
Arun then passed the microphone to YB Nik Nazmi, who updated us on what he has done as MP for Seri Setia, as well as his activities as Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim's Political Secretary. He is obviously busy, but comes across as an intelligent, level headed and mature your man, with a thought provoking and well designed blog to his credit. Lau Weng Sun (DUN Kg Tunku) was next, and started off by thanking the rakyat for being brave and not voting along racial lines, which was the norm in past elections. He highlighted certain issues in his constituency and promised to resolve them with the help of the State Govt to show the rakyat that our trust is not taken for granted.
Next up was Ust Muhibul (MB Perak's Political Secretary), who gave a witty account of what happened in Perak. Since the resounding win, the Perak MB has received numerous speaking invitations and Ust Muhibul said to please give his boss 100 days so that the new Perak Government can plan programmes, search for lost files, study past contracts etc. YB Ronnie Liu (Exco Selangor and MP Pandamaran) was next and started off by promising that the fiasco involving the RM9.9 million BALKIS funds will be thoroughly investigated. He lamented that till today, even though police reports have been filed, no investigations has commenced as yet. He also explained his role as Selangor Exco and MP for Pandamaran, and touched on issues like eradicating corruption and poverty in his areas.
The MC then proceeded to invite Makkal Sathy supporters in the audience on stage to give each of the speakers a floral garland. The audience gave each speaker thunderous applause and the loudest was saved for Nurul Izzah, who in fact received the largest floral garland I've ever seen, which must have measured close to 5 feet long!!
Nurul Izzah was next who was met with warm applause. Being the rose among the thorns, her aura and sense of presence on stage did not go un-noticed, and caused a hush over the audience. I believe many people were not only taken aback by her slight frame and stunning good looks, but more so her polite demeanour, excellent oratory skills (just like her father), and her passion for what she believes in. It went dead quiet when she described what went through her mind during her swearing in at Parliament recently, as well as the last 6-7 years when Dato Seri Anwar was still in jail.
Last but certainly not least was Dr Hatta (PAS) who not only woke the audience up with his witty one liners, he also made us realise just how corrupt and power hungry UMNO-BN really is, which is why they are such sore loosers after their defeat in 5 States. When commenting on the recent demonstrations that he and YB Ronnie Liu helped organise, he added that they only know how to get people to come together, but left the Police to ask the crowd to disperse!! The talk ended at 1230 am and the audience left with a feeling that our decision to shun UMNO-BN was a correct one. I managed to shake YB Ronnie Liu's hand and asked him to keep up the good work.
My sincere hope is that the rakyat in the other ignorant states can see the changes happening in the Pakatan Rakyat administered states, and will defect to us in the next general elections. The talk gave me a boost in terms of my conviction that all's well in Selangor, however, I'd like to see the changes that they talk about with my own eyes just to be on the safe side.
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