DAP Ceramah in Han Chiang High School

Election fever in Penang is really running in high gear and talk of the town is that the whole country is looking at the fight in Penang between Barisan Nasional and the Opposition composed mainly of DAP and Keadilan.

Left:Jeff Ooi at Pulau Tikus ceramah, Right: Haris Ibrahim at Chye Ling Park ceramah

This was my first time attending ceramahs and it was an eye opener! I got to see the famous bloggers Jeff Ooi and Haris Ibrahim. I wanted to listen to Raja Petra but apparently he was hijacked on the way to Chye Ling Park rally.

Thursday night, more than 25,000 people (estimated by Straits Times) gathered at the rally in Han Chiang High School. According to DAP there were 50,000 supporters in the school compound and another 10,000 outside the school premises around the fence. The Star only mentioned that a “mammoth crowd” gathered at the rally, not even a photo of the rally was printed. People have to read foreign news paper to get fairer coverage of both sides of the team, how sad.

The people gathered at Han Chiang really were die hard supporters. Just after it started, the heavens opened up and there was a heavy down pour. Yet the people stood fast and braved the heavy down pour. You can observe the comradeship of the people, strangers to each other, sharing umbrella. Not only did DAP unite the Malays, Indians and Chinese together for the election rally, the heavy rain also helped foster kinship between the races as everyone shared their umbrellas and newapapers with strangers from all walks.

It was good that the rain only lasted less than 1 hour and the rest of the night was cool.

Lim Kit Siang ended the rally with a speech and as the fiery evening drew to an end, fireworks display was showcased and the atmosphere was like a celebration of victory. Perhaps the Opposition had read The Secret that you must believe and live as if you already own what you desire.



Election Bloopers

Some of the campaign posters I saw around my area are quite funny.

Is this an election or a Valentine’s Day poster? First impression is, perhaps they are gay activist lobbying for recognition of their love?

This has got to be the mother of all bloopers. Gerakan launched its slogan (top 3 chinese characters in blue font reading from top to bottom) “Zai Zhuan Bian” which officially to Gerakan means “to keep reinventing”. DAP creatively placed their poster below (bottom 3 chinese characters in red font) “Tou Huo Jian” means “vote for rocket(DAP)”. When you read the resulting six chinese characters put together from top to bottom, “Zai Zhuan Bian, Tou Huo Jian”, it means “For change, vote for rocket(DAP)”. The phrase was catchy, it rhymes and this new slogan actually works more for DAP instead of Gerakan and Barisan Nasional. In fact it is more popular than DAP’s other slogans. In Han Chiang’s rally on Thursday, this was the most popular slogan used by everyone!