Day 12 | Over 5,000 show up at Harapan's S'gor grand finale ceramah

GE15 LIVE DAY 12 | It’s the 12th day of the 15th general election campaign and there are only three days left before voters go out to cast their ballots.

Follow our live blog as the Malaysiakini team brings you the news as it takes place.

At least a thousand gather for Anwar in Ampang

10.40pm: Pandan, Selangor - At the Bandar Baru Ampang night market lot in the Pandan constituency, a large crowd of at least a thousand people brave the rain to attend the Pakatan Harapan rally.

Ceramah goers held up their phones to record opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's fiery speech and put on their phones' torchlights for a sing along of P Ramlee's 'Lagu Penyamun' (Thief's Song).

He breaks into song after saying that Malaysia is a rich country robbed by poor leadership.

The audience waves their phones and join in, singing ”hoi, hoya hoi” with Anwar who leads the chorus from the stage.

From a vantage point, the ceramah goers appear like a field of dancing fireflies.

Maszlee stumps for Akmal

10.30pm: Johor Bahru, Johor - One of the main Pakatan Harapan ceramah organised in the heart of southern Johor sees over 500 supporters attending the event.

Simpang Renggam incumbent Maszlee Malik, stumping for Johor Bahru incumbent and candidate Akmal Nasir, urges the crowd to vote Harapan for a better future for their children and grandchildren with the coalition’s education reform promises.

He also stresses on Harapan's promise of a "zero reject policy" that is inclusive of children with special needs to be accepted in all government schools.

Maszlee notes many in the crowd may be voters from surrounding parliamentary seats, urging them to share the message to support Harapan as they return home on polling day this Saturday.

Aside from Akmal, others on the speakers' list include Pasir Gudang incumbent Hassan Karim, Tebrau incumbent Jimmy Puah and PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli.

Amirudin loses slipper squeezing through huge crowd

10pm: Gombak, Selangor - An overwhelming crowd of over 5,000 people flock to the MPAJ Multipurpose Hall AU 2 in Gombak for Pakatan Harapan’s Selangor grand finale ceramah tonight.

Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman tells the crowd that the number of supporters present was so big that Harapan's Gombak candidate Amirudin Shari had problems entering the hall.

"The menteri besar's slipper fell off as he squeezed his way inside. The political pact of Harapan and Muda is the biggest coalition in the country, but we still need an 80 percent of voter turnout," says the Muar candidate.

Thousands of people continue to show up at the hall and they were forced to retreat to the adjacent roads after finding the venue packed. This also resulted in heavy traffic in the surrounding roads at Keramat.

Apart from Syed Saddiq, Harapan chairperson Anwar Ibrahim, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke and Amanah president Mohamad Sabu was also there.

People leave PN talk after dinner distribution

9.30pm: Bukit Gelugor, Penang - About 100 people turn up at a Perikatan Nasional (PN) political talk held beside the Farlim night market tonight.

However, a quarter of them left after PN staff distributed dinner boxes in the middle of the event.

The coalition’s candidate for Bukit Gelugor P Thinaganarabhan was among the speakers there.

Thinaganarabhan is facing a three-cornered fight in the constituency with Pakatan Harapan’s incumbent MP Ramkarpal Singh, and BN Wong Chin Chong.

Independent candidate denies offer to split votes

8.40pm: Nibong Tebal, Penang - Independent candidate Goh Kheng Huat swears that he has never received money from any party to split the votes in Nibong Tebal, as alleged by Pakatan Harapan.

Goh emphasises that he had no contact with those parties and may take legal action over the claims, China Press reports

PN candidate slams ‘dirty trick’ to scare non-Muslims

8.15pm: Bukit Bendera, Penang - Perikatan Nasional candidate for Bukit Bendera Hng Chee Wey condemns the new anonymous banners that have appeared in his constituency, which highlights the fact that Gerakan is in the same coalition with PAS.

He criticises his opponents for the “dirty trick” to intimidate non-Muslims by emphasising this coalition partnership, China Press reports.

Hng promises to stand his ground against any religious extremist statements and policies, even in front of PAS.

Anwar: I will treat all M’sians as my children

6.30pm: Pakatan Harapan chairperson Anwar Ibrahim pledges to treat all Malaysians as his own children regardless of their race.

"Rarely you can find a Malay leader, who is very Malay in terms of language, culture and tradition, as well as a practising Muslim, who would dare to say in front of Muslims in Kelantan that he would take care of all races if he leads the country.

"This is not being defensive and apologetic," he tells a crowd in Taman Subang Perdana while campaigning for the coalition’s Sungai Buloh candidate R Ramanan.

"The people have risen today and conveyed that they are against corruption and theft. Don't fool the people," he adds.

He says that the people should not rely on leaders and should take action to liberate themselves in the general election.

At one point, Anwar sings the "Penyamun" song together with the audience.

Anwar is in Klang Valley to campaign particularly for PKR's candidates today.

About 500 people, mainly Harapan supporters clad in red shirts, received him passionately, with the playing of drums and songs in the background.

Incumbent Sungai Buloh MP R Sivarasa also appears at the event.

EC meeting on Friday over Padang Serai

6.30pm: The Election Commission (EC) will hold a special meeting this Friday to discuss "important dates" for the Padang Serai parliamentary seat election.

The meeting is to be held following the death of Pakatan Harapan candidate M Karupaiya earlier today.

"The EC has received an election writ from the constituency's returning officer stating information about the death of the candidate.

"Thus, the EC will hold a special meeting on Nov 18 to discuss and set important dates for the Padang Serai parliamentary election.

"A press statement will be issued after the meeting," says EC secretary Ikmalrudin Ishak in a statement.

READ MORE: Padang Serai: Candidate’s death casts doubt if polls still on for Nov 19

Immigration blocks Rayer from entering S'wak

6.05pm: Kuching, Sarawak - DAP says its incumbent Jelutong MP RSN Rayer is barred from entering Sarawak.

According to a party representative, Rayer arrived at Kuching airport on his way to attend a ceramah at DAP's Batu Kawa service centre in the city but was stopped by immigration officials.

"He was only told that the notice was issued by the Sarawak government in 2016. No grounds were given," the representative tells reporters in a WhatsApp group.

Rayer will be deported to Kuala Lumpur via a flight scheduled at 9pm tonight, where he will take a connecting flight back to Penang.

Harapan Sepang candidate injured

4.30pm: The Pakatan Harapan candidate for Sepang parliamentary seat Aiman Athirah Sabu says she was injured after her left foot was run over by a car during a walkabout yesterday.

Taking it to Twitter, the Pakatan Harapan Women's chief says she was advised to take a rest from her campaign drive but decides not to do so.

"During my walkabout at a market yesterday, I was injured after my foot was run over by a car.

"I was advised to rest but I want to stay strong and meet with the Sepang people. Please pray that I stay strong for us!" she tweets.

Zuraida urged to use safer campaign methods

3.16pm: Ampang Jaya district police chief Mohamad Farouk Eshaq urges PBM's Ampang candidate Zuraida Kamaruddin to use safer methods of campaigning.

He says standing on a road divider to canvass for votes from passing motorists is dangerous, Sin Chew Daily reports.

Yesterday, the incumbent MP and her supporters held 'flash mobs' in various locations in Ampang, where they held up PBM posters and waved to passing motorists.

Charles throws support for Ganabatirau

2:30pm: Klang, Selangor - Incumbent Klang MP Charles Santiago is endorsing his successor V Ganabatirau who will represent Pakatan Harapan there for the 15th general election.

“Now is not the time to boycott or to remain angry,” says Charles.

Speaking to the media at a busy coffee shop in Taman Dato Harun, Ganabatirau says Charles’ endorsement of his candidacy is a “booster” to his campaign for the seat.

Charles urges all Malaysians who can vote to come out and vote for Harapan as the next government in Putrajaya and Anwar Ibrahim as the next prime minister.

Charles says the flood mitigation proposal for Klang drawn up with the help of UiTM lecturer Lee Wei Koon has been submitted to Selangor State executive councillor for Infrastructure and Agriculture Izham Hashim on June 16.

“There is no more pussy footing around this matter,” Charles says whilst calling on all parties to put forward a reformed agenda in addressing the effects of climate change and flash flooding in their areas.

In handing over the responsibility of tackling the flood woes in Klang to Ganabatirau, Charles says the next MP for Klang has to push (the implementation of flood mitigation plans) like his life depends on it.

YB should be ‘yang berkhidmat’, Mahdzir suggests

1.58pm: Elected representatives should be addressed as "yang berkhidmat" instead of the commonly used "yang berhormat", suggests Umno vice-president Mahdzir Khalid.

According to him, the new salutation would better describe the role an elected representative is supposed to play.

"The 'yang berkhidmat' salutation is more suitable to describe the role of an elected lawmaker.

"Changing the salutation to 'yang berkhidmat' would also make the representatives seem closer to the rakyat," says the incumbent Padang Terap MP after attending a function in Padang Terap, Kedah, today. He is also the BN candidate for the seat.

Mahdzir says elected representatives should realise that they have two main tasks - to make policies in Parliament or state legislative assembly, and serve the rakyat.

"So, in those five years, the rakyat can gauge whether the 'yang berkhidmat' really provides service to their constituency."

Johor, K'tan announce replacement holiday on Nov 20

1.10pm: Johor and Kelantan announce replacement holiday on Nov 20 in conjunction with the general election, according to Bernama.

Menteris besar for Johor and Kelantan made the announcements respectively today.

Zahid will not become PM if BN wins, his deputy insists

1.10pm: Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan has stressed that party No 1 Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will not become the prime minister if BN wins the 15th general election.

Noting that the coalition has already decided that the PM candidate would be Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Mohamad, however, says that the ultimate decision lay in the hands of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

"It is up to the Agong's discretion. We can only suggest.

"Like in Johor, we proposed Hasni Mohamad to be retained as the menteri besar, but the Johor ruler wanted someone else," Sinar Harian quotes the BN election director as saying during his ceramah in Kundur, Rembau yesterday.

Three held for distributing leaflets at Lumut naval base

12.40pm: Ipoh - Three local men were arrested for allegedly distributing campaign leaflets for the 15th general election at the Lumut Naval Base, near here yesterday, reports Bernama.

Perak police chief Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri says that police received a report from the Navy's Provost Patrol Team (Protela) as soon as the Protela team made the arrest.

“The three individuals involved distributed leaflets of a political party in Block A8 of the Royal Malaysian Navy Family Quarters (RKTLDM), which has been gazetted as a restricted area.

“The three arrested were aged 19 to 33, and police have opened investigation papers according to Section 24B of the Election Offences Act 1954,” he says in a statement today.

According to him, campaigning should not be carried out in places gazetted as restricted areas, as stipulated in the Protected Areas and Protected Places Act 1959 (Act 298).

“Any individual found to have failed to comply with this matter may be subject to imprisonment or a fine, as provided in Section 7 of the same law.

“We advise all contesting parties to comply with all existing rules and laws during the GE15 campaign period,” he says.

The Lumut parliamentary constituency has 8,327 early voters, consisting of military personnel and their spouses, and of that number, 787 people are postal voters.

Three schools, namely Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Pangkalan TLDM, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SK) Pangkalan TLDM and SK Pangkalan TLDM 2 are being used as polling centres, with 18 channels available for voting.

#KamiNampak flags more candidates

11.42am: A youth-led campaign, #KamiNampak, has flagged more election candidates’ rhetoric that incites race and religious issues on social media.

"We highlight a severe flag from PAS and the party's president Abdul Hadi Awang. A Twitter post by PAS Pusat's account displayed a quote from Hadi saying, 'Only Allah the Almighty can determine the time of death of a race when it's time for that race to be punished by Him.'

"Alongside with the title ‘Allah Creates Race, Allah Erases Race Too’, #KamiNampak decries this rhetoric as a dog whistle for violence against certain racial groups," says the group in a statement today.

#KamiNampak is a campaign by Architects of Diversity and part of the Rapid Response Team of Centre for Independent Journalism's 15th General Election Social Media Monitoring campaign.

It comprises 60 youth volunteers monitoring the social media accounts of election candidates in all 222 parliamentary seats.

Also flagged are several leaders and candidates - Nga Kor Ming from DAP, Umno's Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Mohd Fadhil Noor from PAS, Woo Cheong Yuen from Gerakan, Pejuang's Auzaie Fadzlan, and independent candidate Muhammad Zaki Omar - for using race and religion narratives.

Cops investigate burning of Ismail Sabri’s poster

11.27am: Kuala Kedah, Kedah - Police are investigating the burning of caretaker prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob's poster in Gunung Keriang.

Kota Setar police chief Ahmad Shukri Mat Akhir says they received a complaint from a BN campaign worker who spotted the burnt poster at about 3pm yesterday.

Aside from Ismail Sabri's poster, another one depicting BN's Kuala Kedah candidate Mashitah Ibrahim also bears similar marks.

Ahmad Shukri says the case is being investigated under Section 4A (1) of the Election Offences Act 1954, and Section 435 of the Penal Code.

Goodies await Sungai Besar and Ampang voters

10.40am: Goodies await voters in Sungai Besar and Ampang today, according to the BN candidates' schedules distributed to the media.

In Sungai Besar, Umno's Jamal Md Yunos is offering free petrol at Petronas in Sekinchan at 5pm.

At 6.45pm in Ampang, MCA's Ivone Low Yi Wen's "casual chat" event at Restoran Ali Maju Taman Ukay Perdana promises a lucky draw.

Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional candidates have also offered free services, like changing the oil for motorcycles.

This was offered by Harapan's Kuala Selangor candidate Dzulkefly Ahmad on Nov 12, in an event which also featured a lucky draw.

On the same day, the same free service was offered by PAS' Sungai Buloh candidate Mohd Ghazali Md Hamim.

Kit Siang vows special office to promote rights of Sabah, S’wak

10.25am: DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang promises to set up a special office to promote the restoration of the rights of Sabah and Sarawak in accordance with Malaysia Agreement 1963, should Pakatan Harapan wins the general election.

At a DAP ceramah in Tenom last night, he said it is a great disgrace to Sabah and Malaysia that Sabah, with so many resources, is one of the poorest areas with double-digit figure poverty.

"Every Sabahan must ask why Sabah, one of the territories endowed with the richest natural resources like oil, gas, timber and fertile soil, should end up as the poorest territory in the country six decades after the formation of Malaysia.

"If there is no corruption and abuses of power, and good governance is the order of the day in the last six decades, Sabah’s rich resources should be reflected in the poverty rate, and as Sabah is one of the richest states in the country, the poverty rate in Sabah should be below the national poverty rate."

He says Sabahans and Sarawakians were promised before Malaysia was formed in 1963 that if Sabah and Sarawak joined in the formation of Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak will enjoy the progress and infrastructure development in Malaya.

However, he adds that almost six decades have passed, but Sabahans and Sarawakians are still as poor as ever, and even the three pledges in Keningau Batu Sumpah to uphold the three pledges of “Ugama bebas dalam Sabah”, “Tanah-tanah dalam Sabah dikuasai oleh kerajaan Sabah” and “Adat istiadat anak rayat Sabah dihormatkan dan dipelihara oleh kerajaan” had been neglected.

"One of the first tasks of my special office for the restoration of rights of Sabah in accordance with Malaysia Agreement 1963 will be on the Keningau Batu Sumpah - the extent the three pledges had been honoured in the past 60 years," he says.

Spotted: Banners encouraging everyone to stay united

9.30am: Banners encouraging voters and political parties to stay united despite the difference in their political leanings have been spotted at several locations in Selangor.

The banners, in Bahasa Malaysia, read: "Tidak kira apa fahaman politik. Jangan sampai tidak bertegur sapa dan saling bermusuhan. Kita semua satu komuniti. Kekalkan muafakat. Mungkin musuh hari ini yang akan menguruskan jenazah kita pada hari esok. (No matter what your political leaning is, do not get hostile with one another. We are one community. Maintain harmony. Maybe your enemy today will be the one managing your remains tomorrow)."

One such banner in Semenyih can be seen near Surau Al-Kauthar in Bandar Tasik Kesuma, according to netizen S Munirah Alatas.

"The message is so clear, so simple, yet, has been so difficult to adhere to. Our politicians have transformed into a selfish, disgusting lot," she writes on Facebook.

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