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LIVE | PD POLLS | DAY 6 | Campaigning by the seven candidates running in the Port Dickson by-election continues today.

Malaysiakini brings you live reports of the campaigning on the ground.


KEY HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Anwar says new structural plan for PD needed
  • Free picnic event stirs controversy
  • Anwar launches free e-tuition programme
  • Guan Eng slams Hadi for 'dangerous' comments
  • Anwar attends burial of rescue diver
  • 'No gifts allowed' – EC reminds independent Kan
  • Stevie: I'm losing weight by walking to meet voters
  • Body of deceased diver Adnan Othman arrives in Lukut
  • Candidates visit family of drowned rescue diver
  • Anwar's campaign goes on till midnight

Anwar says new structural plan for PD needed

10.40pm: Tanah Merah, Site C - Some 500 people attend a ceramah by Anwar Ibrahim here. The PKR president-elect is welcomed with firecrackers and a lion dance.

The people shout "Yes!" when he asks them if it is okay for him to offer himself as their MP. The 71-year-old admits that he is happy that people of all races support him.

"This is not about Anwar, this is about the nation, the nation that wants to stop the robber from robbing the country," Anwar continues.

He quips that some 50 staff me from the Sungai Buloh Prison had come to see him and offered help.

"I said 'no' [...] I told them you ensure the cleanliness of Sungai Buloh Prison because new people will come," he says.

Anwar reiterates that he will not become part of the cabinet if he is elected but will focus on parliamentary matters.

"I am not here to play. I have suffered in the past 20 years. Now, if the people in Port Dickson help me, I am not going to forget them will help to make Port Dickson rise again as a tourist spot," he says.

He says as basic infrastructure like roads and drainage system need to be improved, a structural plan will be prepared for Port Dickson.


Free picnic event stirs controversy

7pm: Teluk Kemang beach - PAS candidate Mohd Nazari Mokhtar reminds PKR that the party took a strong anti-corruption stand in its run-up to the general election.

His comments came in wake of a free picnic event to be organised by the Anwar Fan Club and several NGOs in Port Dickson this Saturday.

Earlier today, Bersih had urged the EC to look into the event as it may breach campaigning rules.

"If they feel this is the best way to get the sympathy of the voters, PAS has no objection as long as it does not contravene any regulation," says Nazari.

"PKR leaders were among those who voiced out on corruption so this event may end up embarrassing themselves," he said.

The PAS central leadership will raise the matter in the case of any wrongdoing, he adds.


Anwar launches free e-tuition programme

4pm: The Grand Beach Resort 
 Pakatan Harapan candidate Anwar Ibrahim has launched a free e-tuition programme for Port Dickson pupils.

The programme has been put together and is being run by parent-teacher associations (PTA) and NGOs in Port Dickson, Anwar stressed, and does not involve any government machinery.

Port Dickson is the first place to have such a programme, he said, though he intends to bring this e-tuition programme to other places as well, if it proves to be successful here.

“I think within a month I have to bring it to Permatang Pauh, otherwise they will say I am ungrateful,” he quipped.

Anwar also spoke about former education ministry director-general Abdul Rahman Arshad, who was also present at the launch.

Abdul Rahman – who was the director-general when Anwar was the education minister – was his former teacher, he said.

Until today, Anwar said he still stands up to greet Abdul Rahman as a sign of respect for his former teacher.


Guan Eng slams Hadi for 'dangerous' comments

3pm: DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng lambasts PAS president Hadi Awang's criticism of Anwar attending several events at non-Muslim places of worship.

In a statement, Lim says such comments by Hadi, that Anwar was "inconsistent" in his Muslim beliefs, are "dangerous".

"Anwar did not participate in any non-Muslim religious ceremonies when he visited churches and temples and yet he is branded (by Hadi) as 'not to be trusted as a Muslim'. Such hostility is dangerous.

"PAS and Hadi may be desperate to win Malay/Muslim votes in the Port Dickson parliamentary by-election since PAS know they have minimal support amongst non-Malay or non-Muslim voters, but inciting racial or religious sentiments highlights the fact that fears amongst non-Malays and non-Muslims about PAS are genuine and justified.

"That is why Pakatan Harapan and DAP fully support Anwar – because he represents Harapan’s vision to unite and not divide Malaysians," Lim said.

On Monday, Hadi had said that Anwar was being inconsistent in his Islamic practise, claiming that the latter indulged in other religious practices when he was with the different communities.

"For example, he (Anwar) becomes an imam in the mosque, but in Sikh places (gurdwaras), he dresses up like a Sikh and in (Hindu temples), he dances according to Tamil tunes," Hadi said.


Anwar attends burial of rescue diver

2.30pm: Lukut – Anwar shows up at the Raja Jumaat Muslim cemetery to pay his last respects to Adnan Othman, the rescue diver who died during a search-and-rescue operation in Selangor yesterday.

Anwar arrived at about 2pm in a white shirt and black pants, and stopped to talk to several Fire and Rescue personnel before approaching the victim’s father.

The Harapan candidate later told reporters that he believes the federal government would provide assistance to the family of the deceased.

“I offer my deepest condolences to the family and I believe if Azizah (Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail) visits, she will provide more details (on the aid).

“Their (rescue divers') service to the country must not be forgotten and the welfare of their families must be made a priority,” he said.

Anwar said he was informed that all the divers had followed procedures during the operation yesterday.

“From what I’ve been told by the Bomba director earlier, they had followed procedures but unfortunately this failed to prevent the tragedy,” Anwar said.


'No gifts allowed' – EC reminds independent Kan

2pm: Bagan Pinang – Independent candidate Kan Chee Yuen’s plan to distribute pens to voters has been derailed as distributing gifts during the campaign period is illegal.

“I just received an email from EC (Election Commission) reminding me that no gifts are allowed.

“My apologies ... I thought this was allowed based on the practices during the previous elections,” Kan said in a statement today.

As such, he will no longer be distributing the pens, he added.

However, he said he will continue buying up pens which will be donated to schools in need back in Kuala Lumpur.

Yesterday, Kan bought pens from several sundry shops in Lukut, Port Dickson. His logo for the by-election ballot sheet is a pen.


Stevie: I'm losing weight by walking to meet voters

2pm: Independent candidate Stevie Chan Keng Leong says walking for at least two hours each day during the campaign period has caused him to lose weight.

The social media personality said his 'walkabout' style of campaigning requires him to cover at least three kilometres on foot in each area.

“Other candidates will campaign through talks  while standing in one place ... I walk a lot (to be) among the voters, so I have lost weight.

“Look at my campaign posters ... I was fatter then. Generally, I spend between two to three hours walking and spending time with the voters,” he told Bernama.

He said he focused on restaurants, food courts and recreational areas along the beach where he could meet voters.

As an independent candidate, Chan said, he did not have an operations room, voter assistance booths or a large campaign machinery like those of candidates from political parties.

Although not bound to any fixed schedule, Chan said he generally had two to three walkabout sessions every day.


Body of deceased diver Adnan Othman arrives in Lukut

11.50am: Taman Jaya, Lukut  The body of the deceased diver of the Shah Alam fire-and-rescue station, Adnan Othman, 33, arrives at his family home.

The coffin, covered with the Jalur Gemilang, is carried into the house by a group of firefighters.

Earlier, independent candidate Kan Chee Yuen was there to pay his respects to the family.

The diver is one of six who drowned during a search-and-rescue operation at a mining pool in Selangor yesterday.


Candidates visit family of drowned rescue diver

9.45am: Taman Jaya, Lukut – Two independent candidates Mohd Isa Abdul Samad and Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan arrive around the same time at the family home of one of the fire-and-rescue divers who died in a rescue mission last night.

They came to pay their respects to the victim's family, who are holding prayers at the house.

Isa says he has known the diver’s father for many years while Saiful extends his condolences to the family.

Saiful also gives the family a portion of his campaign funds.

It is learnt that more candidates have postponed their campaigning plans for the day to visit the diver’s family instead.

Last night, six divers from the Shah Alam fire-and-rescue station drowned during a search-and-rescue operation at a mine in Selangor.


Anwar's campaign goes on till midnight

12.01am – Kampung Si Rusa

Pakatan Harapan candidate Anwar Ibrahim campaigned past the eleventh hour yesterday.

During his speech in Kampung Si Rusa, he told the crowd of about 150 that he was touched to receive such a warm welcome in Port Dickson and he sees it as a sign of acceptance.

"I have been in politics and represented Permatang Pauh for a long time. My father was a member of parliament there, my mother was the Umno Wanita chief at that time. I can understand the friendliness there.

"So that I have to say thank you to you all, as I have received friendly welcome here. This is a good sign to show that I have already been accepted as family here," he said.

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