__________________________________________________
Malaysia Chronicle
Sunday, 19 May 2013 08:06
Thanksgiving in Penang, but in Malaysia a season of despair and a season of hope begins
Written by Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle
It was special night on May 18, 2013 and a lucky one for the more than 60,000 Penangites who flooded the Padang Kota Esplanade that night. They got to hear some of the best political thoughts enunciated by the country’s top leaders when they attended the thanksgiving rally hosted by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and the state executive council.
Guan Eng and his Pakatan Rakyat coalition had won a second term on May 5, trouncing Prime Minister Najib Razak’s BN by 10 seats in the 40-seat state assembly. Guan Eng’s DAP party took 19 seats, allies PKR won 10 and PAS one. The trio also amassed more than 70% of the total votes cast. The other 10 state seats were won by Najib’s Umno party, which also leads the BN coalition.
…..
In a speech that showed why the 53-year-old Guan Eng is so popular with Penangites, who in 2008 had rejected the BN after decades of flaccid and uneven rule, the Penang Chief Minister promised he would not let the electoral “injustice” at the federal level be swept aside by the success at the state level.
He vowed to embark on a 3-prong strategy to prod Najib and BN into conceding a review and re-election for the all the seats that are under dispute.
ern for another 5 years, there might be ‘nothing’ left in the national coffer by the time the next general election is rolled out.
Saturday’s rally had initially been themed ‘One Person, One Vote, Same Democracy’ and was due to be attended by Pakatan big guns. But after objections from the police, Guan Eng’s state government was forced to tone down their event.
Even so, Anwar came as guest-of-honor and so did DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang and DAP chairman Karpal Singh.
For the speeches by Karpal Singh, Lim GUan Eng and Anwar Ibrahim, click on the link:
http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=101781:thanksgi
—–
SORRY, THERE SEEMS TO BE NO ‘LIVE’ BROADCAST TONIGHT!
Watch after 8pm
http://new.livestream.com/home
—
Malaysiakini
Despite police warning that the rally was illegal, thousands turned up for a Pakatan Rakyat state government sponsored ‘thanksgiving’ event at the Esplanade in Penang last night.
The crowd, mostly youths sporting black T-shirts armed with plastic vuvuzela horns, appeared to hold fast to the spirit of Blackout 505, Pakatan’s clarion call against alleged election fraud and vote buying in the May 5 general elections.
“In most countries if such incidents of fraud happen, there would have been massive civil strike,” said Pakatan leader Anwar Ibrahim, the last speaker for the night.
“Prime Minister Najib Razak should thank Pakatan for maintaining peace and calm in all our protests,” said the former deputy prime minister.
“In all states, from Penang to Perak, Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang, we held peaceful rallies yet Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi say these were illegal,” he lamented.
“I want to tell them, they can try to declare our rallies illegal but they can never stop people’s power because the people’s voice is mighty (suara rakyat suara keramat),” he shouted to loud applause from the crowd.
Anwar said it was impossible to accept the results of the general elections when there were close to 30 seats in doubt, while BN retained Putrajaya although it managed to obtain only 48 percent of the popular vote.
“They asked us to accept the cheating and the robbery? Your car or home is stolen from you and they tell you to accept the reality? Reality, my foot!” he exclaimed.
…..
A celebrity’s welcome
When he arrived at 9.40pm, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was given a celebrity’s welcome, with loud cheers from the crowd, many of whom also blared their vuvuzelas repeatedly.
Lim estimated the crowd size to be about 60,000, thanking the Penang voters for giving Pakatan another term to rule the state.
He later introduced his team of state cabinet members to the crowd, saying they were specially picked to serve the people.
…..
During his speech, DAP national chairman Karpal Singh spoke about the right to assemble, while commending the crowd for being courageous enough to attend the rally despite the threat that the event was “illegal”.
“Let me warn the police this is not an illegal assembly but a gathering of citizens who want to express their concerns at the general elections results,” said the Bukit Gelugor MP.
60,000 defy police warning, attend ‘thanksgiving’ rally
—
60K DEMAND EC RESIGN, 1PERSON 1 VOTE NOW RT@JrKop:Penangites throng Esplanade for thanksgiving rally.#PKR #UBAH #GE13 pic.twitter.com/B6Reh44BNF
—
“@sateesdapsypg: Lawan Tetap Lawan. at Esplanade, Penang #Black505 rally.. pic.twitter.com/pJtG9xYvMa“
—
Dr Wan Azizah Ismail @drwanazizah
Pl tweet-di padang kota penang pic.twitter.com/JT0fCRrORj
—
Harakahdaily’s Photos · Harakahdaily’s Page
—
Can you say Ubah?? ;p #UBAH #Malaysia #Ceramah #Speech #DAP #Penang @ Esplanade (Padang Kota Lama) 舊關仔角 http://instagram.com/p/ZdWseJrBA8/
—
Malaysian Insider
Thousands turn up at Penang ‘illegal’ rally
GEORGE TOWN, May 18 – Thousands turned up at the Esplanade to attend the Penang Pakatan Rakyat state government rally this evening despite the police declaring it an illegal rally.
The crowd started streaming in from 7pm and by 10pm, they had filled more than half the field.
The crowd was not as huge and overwhelming as the last rally held in Esplanade, on May 3, just two days before the May 5 polls where more than half a million in donations were collected.
Tonight’s rally, which was originally organised by PR, is a state government rally to introduce its new leadership and to thank Penangites for their support.
Many in the crowd were dressed in black with a sprinkling of red, yellow and green, in support of the PR.
…..
The line-up of leaders to speak in the rally include Penang DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow, DAP National chairman Karpal Singh, Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng, Gelang Patah MP Lim Kit Siang, PR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and other PR state leaders.
—
Reply to a Tweet
518 现场人潮
———————————————————————–
weehingthong 