DAY 4 KAJANG What's happening in the by-election campaign in the state constituency of Kajang? Quotable quotes, planned events and unplanned incidents as they take place.
11.30pm: Former deputy agriculture minister from Umno Shariff Omar and several of the party’s former local leaders are present on stage during Pakatan’s ceramah at Stadium Kajang tonight.
10.43pm: Seri Setia assemblyperson Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad says although Anwar cannot contest in Kajang, PKR could put up its “secret weapon” Wan Azizah to give a greater challenge.
“She is a reluctant politician. Didn’t ask to contest. Thrown into politics in 1998 because of circumstances, but her record and commitment to the party is undivided.
“She is a reluctant politician contesting on a political stage, who could be rejected or voted in. But if it were Rosmah, no one could choose to vote or reject,” he said in his ceramah at Stadium Kajang.
10.30pm: Lim Kit Siang urges Kajang constituents to be like Justice Bao, the Soong Dynasty judge, who was popularised in Malaysia through a television series broadcast in the late 1990s.
Having played the show’s memorable theme song, he saiys that all Malaysians loved the show because Justice Bao represented fairness and justice.
Come polling day, he says, the rakyat can show they want justice for Pakatan MPs Karpal Singh and Anwar who have been convicted for sedition and sodomy respectively in recent weeks, and for Malaysia.
“Who the BN candidate is, is irrelevant. That is not the point,” he says, to cheers from the audience.
10pm: Despite being government in Selangor, Pakatan Rakyat did not use a single sen from state funds to campaign, the emcee at a DAP function said.
As proof, Wan Azizah and DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang speak from the back of a lorry-cum-a makeshift stage lined by candles.
The mostly-Chinese crowd of about 250 also hold up candles or plant the candles in the dirt at the barren open space at Taman Maju Satu.
The usually soft-spoken Wan Azizah in her speech rebukes Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin for calling her a puppet.
“I am angry about this. A woman approached me today and said that I had operated on her late father. I am no puppet. Have some respect, young man!” she says.
She also urges all not to “pity” her over her husband Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy conviction, but to join her in the fight against injustice.
“Why pity me? This is my investment (for the future). Be brave! Be with me!” she says.
8pm: South Korean hit song ‘Gangnam Style’ is blaring from an MCA ceramah in Kajang town. The event will start in 30 minutes and is co-organised by Kimma.
Meanwhile, a PKR van is circling the town to urge constituents to attend its ceramah at the Kajang Stadium less than a kilometre away.
3.30pm: Umno Wanita chief Shahrizat Jalil attends prayers at the home of a family member of a MH370 passenger at Sungai Kantan.
She said that she is praying for a miracle and that all Wanita Umno can do is to pray and give moral support to families as they do not have technical expertise to search for the missing plane.
2.30pm: Tesco patrons were seen flipping out their mobile phones and tablets to get a shot of Wan Azizah, who paid the hypermarket at Saujana Impian a visit today.
Flashing her Tesco card, Wan Azizah also stopped at the value buy section of Bata to buy a replacement for her pair.
Taking off her shoe, she points at the label Bata to Malaysiakini to prove that she really does wear Bata shoes.
While she peruses the value buy section, a man yells: “I love you, Datuk Seri!”
Most shoppers are happy to accept the leaflet entitled ‘Cerita Kak Wan’ which describes her struggles in politics.
One woman, who was picking a watermelon, however, was not amused.
“Why don’t they give us one of these instead of a piece of paper?” she mutters after Wan Azizah’s entourage passed her.
Another man felt the same.
“"She wants to be our representative, how about paying for these groceries?” he says to his wife while watching Wan Azizah pay for hers.
Saujana Impian is a Malay voting district just narrowly won by PKR in 2013.
1.32pm: PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim arives at the Kajang Prison mosque for Friday prayers.
Clad in a cream-coloured Baju Melayu with songkok and sampin, he arrived just as the azan (call to prayers) sounded and shook hands with members of the congregation.
12 noon: Wan Azizah, who is an opthamologist, visits patients at the Kajang Hospital.
11.30am: PKR deputy Kajang by-election director Zuraida Kamaruddin laughed off BN candidate Chew Mei Fun's promise to spend at least one day a week in Kajang if she is elected.
“For someone who has no government posts, one day is very little! I am very disappointed,” she scoffed.
“(PKR candidate) Dr Wan Azizah (Wan Ismail) is the party president so she has other work but one day a week is no problem. She will spend more time here, in fact.”
The party also slammed BN for belittling Wan Azizah on social media through a ‘10 things why you shouldn’t vote Wan Azizah’ list.
“They try to make her out as a normal housewife. She is not.”
PKR will also release its own list of 10 reasons why people should vote for Wan Azizah.
One of them, Selangor PKR director of strategy Khalid Jaafar says, is Wan Azizah’s international stature.
“She was selected as the cover story for internationally renowned magazine Newsweek . Someone put on the cover is not a small fry,” he said.
10am: MCA provides free medical consultation at Taman Berjaya.
