The election poster wars in Shah Alam has forced Umno candidate Abdul Aziz Samsuddin to face his past "link" with jailed ex-deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.

In their bid to remind Shah Alam voters of Abdul Aziz's alleged involvement in the political conspiracy to topple Anwar in 1998, the opposition has put up the black-eye posters of Anwar next to the Umno politician.

An opposition party worker told malaysiakini that Abdul Aziz not only has to face the strong fight by his opponent PAS' Abdul Khalid Samad but he also has to deal with the Anwar Ibrahim factor if he wants to win votes.

"If Aziz Samsuddin thinks people can forget that he played a huge part in the conspiracy against Anwar, he will be sorely disappointed. Even if he wins, it's going to haunt him for the rest of his political career," said the party worker.

He claimed that the strategy is able to give positive impact to the opposition as the Malay community in Shah Alam which makes up 66 percent of the electorate, are still very concerned with the injustices Anwar has been facing.

"The Malay residents here are mostly internet-savvy. They don't only read the mainstream publication but also seek alternative material on Anwar. Reformasi spirit may not look as strong as in 1999 but believe me it's still there."

Still an issue

A PAS supporter and Shah Alam residents lauded the strategy stating that until Anwar is freed on bail and allowed to receive treatment of his choice, the issue will not die.

"The government can forget Anwar if they want but beware of the consequences," said the government officer referring to prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's statement that Anwar is no longer an issue in this election.

Anwar, who is serving time for corruption and sodomy, was sacked in 1998 by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad on allegations of corruption and sexual misconduct.

In 1999, during his corruption trial, Anwar alleged that Aziz - political secretary to Mahathir - was among the main conspirators who plotted to smear his name with allegations of sex crimes.

A defence witness Raja Kamarudin Abdul Wahid also testified that Aziz had instructed him to organise a campaign to destroy Anwar and was responsible for circulating the "50 reasons Why Anwar Cannot Become the Prime Minister" booklet at the 1998 Umno general assembly.

A visit to Shah Alam this morning revealed that apart from Anwar's black-eye poster, posters featuring the photos of Aziz, former Inspector General of Police Rahim Noor and businesswoman Umi Hafilda Ali together with a close-up of Anwar and his eye injury, can also been seen.

(Rahim was responsible for assaulting Anwar while Ummi was among the prosecution witnesses who testified against Anwar in his corruption trial in 1999)

Copies of the poster - which was captioned " Betulkah Melayu Mudah Lupa?? "- can be seen all over the city centre since early this morning.

Flyers of the chronology of the Anwar saga - complete with the photos of the jailed politician during the 1998 arrest and on a wheelchair - has also been distributed to the public.

Pak Lah not spared too

Meanwhile, the opposition also has not spared prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi - who is often referred as Pak Lah- in their election campaign.

Flyers carrying the titles "Amanat Pak Lah" (Pak Lah's message) and captioned: "Don't work for me... work for Scomi and my son," were also distributed to the public.

It also featured an article published by Malay daily Utusan Malaysia naming Abdullah's son Kamaluddin as the 10th richest Malay entrepreneur in the country.

Not wanting to be out done, Umno supporters also resorted to distributing booklets of sacked Keadilan youth leader Lokman Nor Adam's confession involving Keadilan youth chief Ezam Mohd Noor.

The booklet, featuring a picture of Ezam sitting next to Aziz, spoke of fund mismanagement within the party.

A Shah Alam resident claimed that he was given a stack of the booklets together with CD of Lokman's confession late last night by a group of Umno workers.

Also being distributed were copies of a newsletter "Warta Pilihanraya" containing condemnations against PAS and its leaders.

In the last election, Ezam drastically reduced the majority enjoyed by the BN/Umno candidate from 40,715 in 1995 to just 1,440. The seat was won by Umno's Mohd Zin Mohamed, who is contesting in Sepang this time around.