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MUAR – PKR is confident of making headway into areas otherwise known as Umno fortresses in northern Johor, with campaigns held in Felda palm oil settlements and surrounding towns seeing an encouraging number of locals attending.
On a blazing hot Wednesday afternoon deep into the plantations of Gemas, Segamat a bunch of around 50 locals began to gather under a canopy installed no more than a couple of hours earlier.
The drive into the Felda Palong Timor settlement itself is an experience with livestock darting across the single-lane street with the presence of party flags erected on bamboo poles getting busier as you approach your destination.
With his arrival preceded by a convoy of at least 50 motorcycles, opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim got out of his black Jaguar to a thunderous welcome by party machinery and eager locals waiting to get sight of the popular politician.
As he spoke, it was clear his message of putting the plight of the people first was beginning to reverberate with the locals, as the numbers slowly swelled.
“The people of Felda have suffered enough with the FGV scandal, and I assure you we are constantly bringing up these topics in Parliament to get answers from the government, to fight for the people’s rights,” he said to a round of applause.
The PKR president in his speech also touched on how the Felda settlements, which he said despite being ruled by Barisan Nasional for many years, still lacks some basic medical and education infrastructure.
Anwar also pleaded with the locals to give PKR a chance by voting in their Buloh Kasap candidate Subramani Chami, whom he said is a representative of all and not only for those of his race.
“Even for me as a member of Parliament in Port Dickson; I am a Malay, but the problems of the Chinese people are my problem, the problems suffered by the Indians are still my problem, because we are fighting for the people.
“So come March 12, give your vote to our candidate Subramani, because he is a representative of everyone here; hopefully when I am watching on March 12, the results for Buloh Kasap will show that we won,” he said during his speech, triggering cheers among locals.
About an hour’s drive away in Segamat town, Anwar arrived to a similarly encouraging response as he spoke under the setting sun while thumping for their Pemanis candidate Yoong Thau.
With a crowd also of around 50 people consisting of the more urban audience, Anwar again reiterated about issues allegedly being okayed by the government like the alleged logging in Pahang, and the ongoing issue regarding the minimum wage line.
These include the recent revelations from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) related trial of Roger Ng in Brooklyn, New York.
“The issue is not about who Tim Leissner was trying to woo, it could have been any other CEO, but the issue is about the country’s money amounting to RM41 million from 1MDB was used to buy the house for her to keep her quiet,” he said.
What is also notable was the healthier mix of races seen among attendees in Segamat, with a fair share of Chinese and Malays making up the crowd, reflective of the electoral demographics in the area.
At his final stop in Gambir, a small town within the Tangkak district, a similar-sized crowd seen at the previous rallies made their presence known despite the evening showers.
It should be noted that the Election Commission (EC), in their set of standard operating procedures (SOP) for the Johor election, capped speeches and rally attendances to 100 participants only.
Anwar again touched on similar topics during the day’s previous sessions, but to an evidently larger crowd, many of whom chose to stand from a distance under the watchful eyes of health department enforcers and policemen looking to enforce any SOP breaches.
As a final war cry, Anwar pleaded to listeners for a fresh start in Johor that can start by voting in Pakatan Harapan (PH) and PKR candidates to rule the state government.
“We win to champion the people’s plight, not to increase the salaries of ministers, not to have the greatest number of ministers in the world, but for the people.
“I believe that in Johor, we can have a fresh start. But it cannot be just lip service, we have to work and work hard.
“If we are doing it part-time, we will not win, and we can only win when the people rise up to bring forth change,” he said before bowing out for the night.
When approached, Anwar again expressed confidence in making inroads towards the northern regions of Johor, saying the people have started appreciating the objectives of PKR and PH.
“At least now we can enter these areas, in which last time we could not.
“We have entered and were greeted by the locals, so what I see are some inspiring changes,” he said.
PKR is contesting a total of 20 seats as part of the PH coalition in the coming polls.
Voting has been set for March 12 with more than 2.59 million eligible voters registered. – The Vibes, March 3, 2022
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