PMTG PAUH Permatang Pauh is in a celebratory mood as several ceramah venues in the Pakatan Rakyat camp is crowded with supporters.

At the Tapak Ekspo in Seberang Jaya - where ceramahs are frequently held - hundreds turn up to hear Pakatan leaders speak in a grand finale ceramah.

A night market sets up as the crowd sit on the floor listening attentively to the speeches.

Cars triple park on the roadside as the crowd swells to an unexpected size, given the dismal turnout on prior days.

The total turnout at Pakatan ceramah at Kubang Semang, Bukit Mertajam and Kubang Semang was around 10,000 people.

Cars are bumper to bumper on the road leading to the ceramah spot. A convoy of motorbikes carrying PKR's flags adds to the festive mood.

In Taman Ciku, Bukit Mertajam, about 1,000 turned up near DAP's service centre.

Gurmit Kaur (photo, in black) , Karpal Singh's widow, addresses the crowd.

"We have lost many outspoken MPs. We cannot afford to lose anymore. We need to send Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to Parliament so she can speak for us," she said.

'Looks like a lobster'

Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali had the crowd in stitches when he mentioned oft-discussed issues such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as well as Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's wife, Rosmah Mansor.
 
"Lobsters are not taxed under the GST, because who eats them? What, Rosmah? How do you know she eats lobsters, have you ever eaten with her? 
 
"That's why she, too, looks like a lobster," Azmin joked.
 
Citing the Rompin by-election where BN's majority was slashed, Azmin said the Orang Asli understood the GST better than Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan. Rompin is home to many Orang Asli.
 
"So if you support Umno, you support the GST. Who supports Umno here, raise your hand? No one? See, even the special branch (SB) do not support Umno."
 
Azmin (photo) added that he was sure that the Election Commission (EC) would announce tomorrow's results  late at night.
 
"If the results are late, then it means we won," he said.

Mat Sabu predicts 16k majority

 
PAS Youth chief Suhaizan Kaiat said his presence tonight showed that the Islamist party's youth wing supported Wan Azizah as Pakatan Rakyat's candidate.
 
"We support her since the beginning. Even if there are those who protest, they are only the minority.
 
"I can't imagine if Kak Wan (Wan Azizah) loses tomorrow. If she loses, maybe the 6 percent GST will rise to 10 percent," he said.
 
Suhaizan also claimed that he was given a BN brochure by an Umno worker this evening.
 
"And that Umno worker told me to just take the brochure but that I do not need to vote for Umno.
 
"This shows that even he does not support BN. So how can you vote for BN?"

In Seberang Jaya, PAS deputy chief Mohamed Sabu predicts a 16,000 majority for Wan Azizah, saying the number should be more than BN's majority in Rompin, Pahang.

"If the majority is lesser than BN in Rompin, I would be ashamed of you, Permatang Pauh voters!" he said.

"Because you are a more develop constituency compared to Rompin. You have wi-fi, you can read the silly remarks made by the BN ministers," he added.

"So if you still let BN, I will be so ashamed!" he said to loud laughter.

On her part, Wan Azizah urged voters to remember why her husband and incumbent Permatang Pauh MP Anwar Ibrahim was convicted of sodomy and is now serving a five-year jail sentence.

"I committed no offence by being a grandmother. So please vote this grandmother tomorrow," she said.

"For the rakyat!"

Wan Azizah faces Umno's Suhaimi Sabudin, PRM's Azman Shah Othman and Salleh Isahak, the independent candidate.

 

Permatang Pauh votes tomorrow.

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