Keadaan pada hari penamaan calon di Permatang Pauh

3 BANGSA UTAMA BERSATU HATI DEMI MENEGAKKAN KEADILAN DI BUMI BERTUAH.

Indian Malaysian PKR supporters dance in the middle of a sea of humanity 0955: A PKR supporter, seeing me on the laptop, walks up to me and asks me for my estimate of the crowd size. I tell him I have been getting reports that it is around 30,000 to 50,000, some saying even 100,000 and over. “Impossible,” he responds, “it is much bigger than that. My friend is still stuck 3.5km away in traffic trying to get here.” I ask him for his estimate of the crowd size. “That’s not for me to say. I just want you to be fair and give a realistic figure.” I press him again for his estimate. “250,000,” he responds. Earlier, a Pas supporter next to me put the figure at 50,000. Who can tell for sure? I wish I was in one of those helicopters above. Blog reader Frankie sends us this report: Early this morning, at 7.00 am, I can see the police helicopter flying throughout the area of Permatang Pauh and I can already sense this is going to be a different peaceful morning that Permatang Pauh is used to. Come 7.50 am, I drove out heading to the Seberang Jaya roundabout, I can see PKR and Pas supporters heading to the BKE expressway. I did see a bus ferrying PAS supporters stopping over at Subbaidah nasi kandar for breakfast before proceeding and I can see all the traffic lights surrounding area have standby traffic cops. Hold on to your seat, it is showtime. 0905: Now let’s talk about the crowd sizes. An academic researcher who has positioned himself at the BN side of the area tell me that the supporters there do not exceed 5,000. “There’s still a lot of space in the field here,” he tells me. “I can even run the 100 metres here!” He adds that the slogan chanting, led by Puteri Umno, has become rather personal. “Liwat tetap liwat!” they chant and “Anwar kati buntut!” Over at the Pakatan side, the researcher tells me the crowd is probably in the range of 30,000, though some PKR supporters are estimating 100,000 to 150,000. The truth is no one can say for sure, as the area is chocker-block with people. 0855: A sea of people with Pakatan flags and banners continue to overwhelm the crowd of a few thousand BN supporters. I bump into bloggers Haris Ibrahim and Zorro and they are in high spirits. I ask Haris for his estimate of the crowd. “”It’s unbelievable,” says Haris. “I dare not even estimate the size of the crowd.” In fact, the crowds is flowing in from all directions. Two police helicopters are now circling overhead surveying the crowds below - so that tells you something. Earlier, Pakatan bystanders were teasing the BN crowd walking in and mocking them. As a group of BN women walked by under a BN banner with pictures of Abdullah and Najib, someone from the roadside greeted them: “Selamat pagi, datin-datin hadhari.” Another taunts them, “How much did they pay you to attend this?” 0815: Greetings from the Nomination Day centre here in Institut Maktab Perguruan Tengku Bainun in Penanti, where there’s a huge crowd of PKR supporters along the Penanti exit of the Butterworth-Kulim expressway. It’s a festive atmosphere, notwithstanding half a dozen FRU trucks on standby and a police chopper clattering overhead. Indian PKR supporters are dancing on the road leading to the nomination accompanied by drummers. Other PKR supporters have removed a banner from a flyover, purportedly put up by Pas supporters urging Pas to boycott the by-election. “These are dirty tricks,” a PKR supporter muttered as he took down the banner. About a dozen Indian women clad in beige saris, donning BN caps, make their way among the throng of PKR supporters. DAP supporters are also making their presence felt with Rocket flags in evidence here and there. I spot PKR’s Gobalakrishnan wearing an Anwar mask. The Anwar masks are selling like hot cakes. BN supporters are conspicuous through their absence. Where exactly are they? Let me go and look for them! Anwar, Parliamentary Opposition Leader from 27 Aug? Massive 60,000-strong rally in Penang raises Opposition hopes Pakatan agrees on unprecedented joint campaign Pro-Opposition sentiment rising in Penang Anwar released on personal bond; mention on 10 Sept