ANWAR TO TAKE THE FIGHT TO SANUSI – PAKATAN’S FINAL ‘CERAMAH’ TO BE HELD IN KEDAH, RATHER THAN SELANGOR?

Anwar’s instinctive campaign style

HULU Kelang was the Prime Minister’s final ceramah stop for the day in Selangor and going there was basically about taking on the challenge posed by Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, who is vying for the seat.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is aware that Pakatan Harapan candidate Juwairiya Zulkifli, who moved from Bukit Melawati to Hulu Kelang is not having an easy time.

Azmin is a big personality and a household name in these parts where PAS has an established network.

Juwairiya is the prettiest woman candidate in Selangor but she looked as though it had been a long day for her as she stood beside the Prime Minister before the massive crowd, among whom was Malaysian Ambassador to the United States, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, who flew in on Friday to lend his support.

Knowing that Azmin is Perikatan’s mentri besar candidate in Selangor, Anwar declared that Juwairiya would have direct access to him if she wins, which means that Hulu Kelang folk will have the special attention of the Prime Minister.

Anwar’s feelings about Azmin run deep because he regarded the Sheraton Move as a bid to block him from taking over after Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

But there, he is standing on the centre-stage of politics, occupying the post that so many thought would be his impossible dream.

And that, said his loyal friend and former newspaper editor Datuk Nazri Abdullah, explains why Anwar is giving his all and going the extra mile in the campaign for the six state elections.

People think it is all about holding on to power but Nazri said that Anwar is committed to multi-racial politics as opposed to the mono-ethnic outlook of Perikatan.

Anwar’s powder-blue linen shirt was creased and dotted with sweat stains as the clock ticked towards midnight in Hulu Kelang but his energy level was still bursting at 9/10.

It is fortunate that Anwar is such a natural stage performer because the task of winning over the traditional Umno supporters has fallen on his shoulders.

The election is very much about securing the Malay support and he has been telling his Malay audiences of his role in averting Dr Mahathir’s attempt to deregister Umno after the 2018 general election.

Anwar has also spared no effort in defending Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi although he is seen as a liability.

That same night in Hulu Kelang, as a convoy of Pakatan bikers honked away as they rode past a Perikatan ceramah featuring Azmin, the audience shouted out “Hoi hoi ya hoi”.

The catchy “Hoi hoi ya hoi” ballad about bandits and robbers that Pakatan adapted from the P. Ramlee movie to mock Umno in the general election has become a case of “lagu makan tuan” (a song that has come back to bite them).

Another message Anwar has been sending out is that whatever the outcome on Aug 12, his Putrajaya government will remain intact because his partners, Umno, Gabungan Parti Sarawak and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, are committed to the unity government in the coming years.

Anwar will mark his 76th birthday this Thursday yet he remains the most instinctive and energetic speaker on Pakatan’s campaign trail.

“He has not lost the fighting spirit but don’t ask me where he gets his energy from. I don’t know how he does it,” said the prime minister’s media and communications director Rozaid Abdul Rahman.

Anwar spent more than 20 years attacking the government of the day, but the role has been reversed and he has been able to switch quite seamlessly to a mix of attacking the opposition and highlighting government policies and endeavours.

It is not easy to get good crowds at ceramah events but he has drawn people out wherever he goes.

It was barely half an hour to midnight when he arrived at Kupang in Baling last Friday but the village folk had stayed up, waiting for him.

PAS flags fluttered everywhere in this PAS enclave but the crowd was there waving back as his entourage drove up.

The reception in Penang has been no different and Anwar has made it a point to endorse incumbent Chow Kon Yeow as the chief minister candidate wherever both of them share the stage.

Anwar knows that rumours of a power struggle to replace Chow are not good for the stability and continuity that Pakatan is promoting in order to hold on to Penang and he has quite effectively quash the rumours.

The Prime Minister is expected to make another whirlwind round of the six states in the coming week.

The conventional notion is that Kedah will be swept by the Sanusi wave but Anwar is not resigned to the doom-and-gloom accounts.

He is determined to go against the Sanusi wave and give a big and final push in Kedah.

Everyone thinks that Pakatan’s finale ceramah will be in Selangor but, for all we know, the Prime Minister may think out of the box and hold it in Kedah.

ANN

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