Anwar's freedom run

Anwar's freedom run By Danny Lim and Ng Boon Hooi 21 Aug 2008 - Nut Graph THE de facto PKR leader is pulling out all the stops to ensure his campaign theme, Merdekakan Rakyat, will be his own redemption. He has been portrayed as a man in a hurry, a BN star turned rebel who stands on the cusp of a new wave of democracy threatening to sweep away an entrenched system of political patronage. And whether or not you buy into his promises of unseating the Federal Government soon, no one — neither his detractors nor his opponents — dares to ignore the threat that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim poses to the establishment. The battle to send Anwar to Parliament, where he is slated to take on the role of opposition leader, is currently heating up in Permatang Pauh. The by-election to fill the seat vacated by his wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, takes place there on 26 Aug 2008. The banners of PKR and its coalition partners have been unfurled, and buntings, posters, and stickers plaster building walls and telephone poles in this mostly rural constituency, where the Malays form a 70% majority. Winning the hearts and minds of his fellow constituents is not a task Anwar takes lightly. After all, opposing him is the might of the well-oiled Barisan Nasional machinery, and its candidate, the likeable state assemblyman for Seberang Jaya, Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah. (There’s also another candidate, the PAS splinter group Akim’s Hanafi Mamat, but he has not figured in the campaigning so far.) But this is a PKR stronghold — Wan Azizah won in her husband’s former seat in 1999, 2004 and 2008, the last by a majority of over 13,388 votes (Anwar was BN MP here from 1982 to 1999). Thus far, the ceramahs and meet-the-people sessions held by PKR have drawn large crowds. So it is the BN that seems to be on the back foot for once. Anwar’s campaign focuses on him being a viable choice to lead the nationAnwar, however, knows that elections can turn on a dime and that many voters are still sitting on the fence. At a press conference on 20 Aug 2008 at the PKR bilik gerakan in Sama Gagah, Permatang Pauh, the former deputy prime minister told The Nut Graph that he doesn’t yet know what the exact percentage of support for him is on the ground. He did, however, say he was gratified that Pakatan Rakyat partners PAS and DAP have turned up in full force to support him in Permatang Pauh. PAS’s presence is especially important in light of the recent talks between the Islamic party and arch-enemy Umno, as well as the current sodomy charge Anwar is facing. ...more