DAY 10 What's happening during the election campaigns around the country today? Quotable quotes, planned events and unplanned incidents as they take place.

[PHOTO GALLERY]

10.30pm - Hulu Kinta, Perak: PKR deputy president Azmin Ali speaks to a 500-strong crowd at Taman Perpaduan in Tambun, Ipoh, in support of Siti Aishah Shaik Ismail and A Tinagaran, the party's candidates for the Tambun parliamentary and Hulu Kinta state seats respectively.

Despite a drizzle, the crowd continues to sit on the ground to listen to Azmin, who is on a day-long campaign in Perak today.

In his speech, Azmin criticises the BN-controlled mainstream media for slandering Pakatan Rakyat’s public image, day and night.

"If we win on May 5, God willing, we will appoint Siti Aishah as the director for media to provide freedom to the media," Azmin said, to which he and received strong cheering from the floor.

Tambun is a BN stronghold in Perak, with incumbent Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah seeking his fifth term as the MP for the Malay-majority constituency.

9.08pm - Ledang, Johor: More than 500 people, mostly Chinese, swarm the DAP office in Ledang as former Batu Gajah MP Fong Poh Kuan lends her star power to DAP's Tangkak state candidate Ee Chin Li.

Fong skillfully goes through the Attorney-General's Report, highlighting government abuses as if she were in Parliament.

BN's Goh Tee Tee won the seat in the last general election by a razor thin 295-vote majority - and the DAP is likely to lose this seat amid strong anti-establishment sentiments locally.

8.15pm - Penang: As early as 7pm, all roads leading to the Han Chiang College in Penang, where Pakatan Rakyat is having its mega ceramah are jammed with people parking their vehicles as far as 1km away to walk to the venue.

By 8pm, more than half its field is filled with a sea of red, yellow and green colours. The crowd is noisy, enthusiastic, cheerful and very responsive.

NONE The roads are crowded with people from all walks of life, with their children and senior citizens, in colorful 'Ubah' red attire or green 'Lynas' T-shirts.

When they hear the emcee for the night call out DAP's ‘Ubah' slogan, the crowd shouts in unison as they approached the field.

These people, with much experience in rallies, brought small stools and newspapers to sit on the grass.

Lesser Pakatan leaders spoke first with big guns Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng to address the crowd later.

6.45pm: Prominent social activist Marina Mahathir - in referring to the May 5 general election - tweeted, “Gentle reminder: In a democracy, we need a government and an opposition. But not too strong a government and not too weak an opposition. Sekian”.

6.30pm - Baram:

Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud believes establishing a new modern township is the catalyst for development in the Baram constituency as at the moment, there is no major urban township there.

The Borneo Post quotes Taib as saying it's insufficient to rely on timber and agriculture was to generate enough funds to transform the whole area.

In a meet-the-people session and campaigning for BN's Baram candidate Anyi Ngau, Taib said it was his dream to see rural areas like Ulu Baram and Ulu Kapit developed before retiring from the political arena.

6.01pm - Muar: A BN supporter jokingly grabs a friend by the neck for having a PKR flag outside his house as BN's Muar candidate Ibrahim Razali does a walkabout in a Chinese area.

NONE A laughing Ibrahim separates them as his supporters point to the BN logo on the vest of their boss and tells the PKR supporter to "vote this".

The same BN supporter then points to his wife and says this one supports DAP, to which Ibrahim laughs and says, "Don't simply say everyone supports DAP".

Ibrahim later adds that he is confident of retaining the Chinese support due to the long service he has provided, which includes upgrades to the local temple.

4.30pm - Johor Bahru: In an attempt to woo saupport from the Johor Chinese, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak announces the approval of the Foon Yew High School third campus in Seri Alam, Pasir Gudang.

NONE He says this is in response to the demand from incumbent Johor Bahru MP Shahrir Samad.

"We give things to everyone, Malays get, Chinese get, Indians also get. This is our government, this is the BN government," he says.

Foon Yew high school is a prominent Chinese independent school in Malaysia. Its main campus is located in Johor Bahru and second campus in Kulai.

According to Bernama , Najib's announcement is a "special gift" to the high school which celebrates its 100th anniversary today.

Approached by reporters afterward, the vice-chairman of the school Tong Sing Chuan says his side is happy with the announcement.

However, he refuses to comment whether the Chinese community should support BN in light of Najib's announcement.

3.30pm - Johor Bahru: About 1,000 people have gathered in Kompleks Sentosa, Johor Bahru to welcome the visit of BN chief Najib Abdul Razak.

NONE The crowd, mostly Malay youths and clad in BN T-shirts, gave a loud applause upon the arrival of Najib.

Several Chinese people are also seen standing on the sidelines and watching the programme.

Outside the shopping mall, the heavy downpour and police roadblocks are causing a huge traffic jam at Jalan Tebrau and Jalan Sutera.

3.30pm - Papar, Sabah:

If BN wins here, all homes in Papar will have basic amenities by 2015. At least that is what BN candidate Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin is aiming to achieve.

"Papar is a rural constituency. So we have problems with electricity, water and roads. We are working to resolve all of this by 2015," she said after officiating a baking course sponsored by a state agency.

NONE Rosnah, who is the incumbent - and also the Puteri Umno chief - said that she has been working with the state to bring such skill development courses to Papar to tackle the unemployment and poverty in the area.

Speaking to course graduates, she urged voters not to view the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) as "bribery for votes" as it is an earnest effort to reduce their burdens in life.

Papar, 60km away from Kota Kinabalu, is also contested by Sabah political veteran Yahya Lampong who is hoping for a comeback on the PKR ticket.

2.00pm - Kajang:

Kajang Municipal Council president Hasan Nawawi Abd Rahman confirms that the municipal council has removed the ‘Vote for Prime Minister’ ( Undilah Perdana Menteri ) banners around the Hulu Langat parliamentary constituency.

NONE "You only can vote for candidates, but not the prime minister.

"The banners will confuse the people, so we removed it," says Hasan Nawawi, who is also the returning officer for Hulu Langat.

He adds that notice had been served to BN three days ago to remove the banners. But as there is no action by the coalition, the municipal council had started to remove the banners since last Saturday.

"Around 400 banners have been removed. We are still in the process of taking them down."

1.30pm - Papar, Sabah:

A newly-hung banner is hung in the middle of the small town, telling voters that only BN can guarantee Sabah's sovereignty within Malaysia.

"Do you remember the bloody Lahad Datu incident?" it asks.

The banner is also splattered with red paint, to stress the point of bloodshed.

1.00pm - Rawang, Selangor:

PKR Selayang parliamentary candidate William Leong criticises BN chief Najib Abdul Razak for his promise to resolve the issue of Rawang’s high tension cable - should BN win the election - as a vote-buying tactic.

"(However,) I am happy that Najib has visited Kampung Sungai Terentang, Rawang after the high tension incident broke out since eight years ago.

NONE "In fact, a principled leader will resolve people's problems, not resolve it according to a transaction deal. (Najib) is a transactional leader.

"I will help you if you help me. If you don't help me, I won't help you. Tak boleh !" Leong ( left in photo ) says at a press conference in his Selayang parliamentary operations room this morning.

Yesterday, Najib promised that the high-tension electrical cable will not pass through Kampung Sungai Terentang in Rawang, Selangor.

He said that this will be included in Selangor BN's Akujanji (pledge) document.  

12.00pm - Tanjong Piai, Johor: While BN chief Najib Abdul Razak delivers a fiery speech at a rally of party supporters, copies of a Malay booklet entitled ' Apa kata Anwar terhadap DAP (What did NONE Anwar say against DAP)' were distributed among some 2,000 people in the crowd.

The 16-page pocket-sized booklet compiles all PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim's remarks made against DAP when he was in the government.

The booklet does not state either its printer or publisher, which is a violation of election laws.

12.00pm - Penang:

A kind of 'silent war' has erupted in Penang between the 1Malaysia blue flags and the DAP's rocket, turning the island into a war zone of sorts.

Since early this morning, Penangites have expressed their unhappiness that the 1Malaysia flags have sprung up all over the island since nomination day on April 3, with some having been put up to disrupt the view of heritage sites.

NONE An artistic wall sculpture along Transfer Road has become an eye sore with several flags placed around it, prompting the State Tourism Office to leave a message in their official Facebook page:

"Horrified to see this picture on our timeline! Vandalising our street art with campaign flags?"

"Tourists have paid good money to see the street art in George Town, and now it's covered with flags!" according to Lisa Pope who had snapped the photo and uploaded it onto her Facebook page.

Another resident of Penang, Bern HK, was equally upset upon seeing the flags in the southern part of the island.

"I went to Balik Pulau yesterday, and these morons wrapped those flags around the iconic water fountain! Hope they didn't destroy it!" he exclaimed in his Facebook page as well.

A frustrated local resident, Vivien Kam, said she went to work today and found that over the weekend, her office area had been covered in dozens, hundreds of blue flags.

NONE "Does that mean all the parking meters with flags are free? My parking (fee is) paid for by BN, right?" she asks.

"My car was nearly pierced by a protruding flag two days ago in the Ayer Itam area. (It is) very accident prone," she laments.

A Singapore tourist, who stays at a hotel along the Gurney Drive, complained that his view of the beautiful sea was blocked by the "darn flags", which he discovered had multiplied over the night.

Caretaker Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is visiting the site today.

10.50am - Rantau, Negeri Sembilan:

PKR candidate for the state seat of Rantau Aisah Lamsah says she feels more ready to face her rival, caretaker Menteri Besar Mohamad Hassan, when met this morning at her operation centre.

NONE “(I am) better spirited because this is the second time that I am facing off against him," adding that she is confident after meeting with at least 60 percent of the voters in Rantau.

The state PKR deputy election director promises to give a great battle to Mohamad Hassan who has once allegedly called Aisah ( right ) “the Mak Cik seamstress who wants to contest in the elections”.

"This time (the fight) will be equally matched,” says the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) graduate.