Thousands of youths have gathered at the PAS Kedah complex in Kota Sarang Semut, Kedah this morning for their rally titled ‘ Masa Untuk Berubah ’ (Time For Change).

PAS Kedah Youth gathering They began their motorbike convoy since early morning and could be seen proceeding up the highway with their party flags billowing in the wind.

The organisers are targetting 30,000 youths for the whole day gathering, hoping to double their feat of pulling in 15,000 for their 2006 event in Kota Bharu, Kelantan.

At 9.30am the gathering began with the singing of Negaraku and the PAS anthem.

    

Kedah MB Azizan Abd Razak arrived to officiate the gathering at 10:15am, greeted by shouts of “takbir”.

PAS vice-president Salehuddin Ayub and youth chief Nasharudin Hassan are also present.

The gathering is historic for PAS Youth. It was originally planned for Selangor, but was moved to Kedah as a strategy to retain the state in the next general election.

Celebrity appeal

One of the highlights of the rally was the announcement that actor and songwriter Bob Lokman ( below ), originally from Kelantan, has joined PAS.

pas rally kedah 190211 bob lokman Bob’s presence at the rally delighted the crowd, who gave him a resounding welcome when Azizan accepted the celebrity’s membership application form on stage.

Azizan then addressed the gathering, and spoke of the important role of the youth in ensuring that PAS and Pakatan Rakyat continue to rule their respective states.

He cited the recent revolution in Egypt that dethroned former president Hosni Mubarak, calling on the people to exercise God’s will in fighting a cruel administration.

pas leaders and YBs PAS Kedah Youth gathering The Kedah MB also tasked those at the gathering to register more youths as voters, saying he was dissatisfied with the number of voters in the state especially among the young.

He also reminded them not to lose sight of Allah while on their struggle.

“Barisan Nasional will try always, including using their wealth and position to unite the people, but the only one who can unite the people is Allah,” he said.

Confident of two thirds majority

During a press conference after his officiating ceremony, Azizan ( below, left ) said he was confident that Pakatan Rakyat would be able to maintain its two thirds majority in Kedah.

   

Kedah MB azizan (left) PC after PAS Kedah Youth gathering He declined to say if PAS would be contesting more seats in the coming general election, highly speculated to be held this year or next, although it is not due until 2013.

He added that if their detractors did not persist to play up issues to influence the people’s support, PAS and Pakatan Rakyat would be able to win more seats in the elections.

“We have done quite well financially, and there is no report about corruption among our exco members,” he told reporters.

“If there are no issues about people’s support declining for Kedah, we would definitely be able to do better (in the election),” he added.

In Shah Alam, Selangor , meanwhile, PAS vice-president Mahfuz Omar said he was "very heartened" at Bob's entry into PAS.

"This will give us a new lease of life so that we can be seen to enjoy the support from many layers of society.

"I think that this can attract the attention of many youths, who are inclined to showbusiness so that the can see that it is not wrong," said the Pokok Sena member of parliament.

He cited the entry of other artists into PAS, such as Akhil Hay, saying it shows that "PAS has variety".

- Additional reporting by Regina Lee; photo of Bob Lokman above from Harakahdaily.net.