It must have been a surreal moment for some 25,000 PAS supporters who thronged the Stadium Melawati indoor arena yesterday to give thanks for the party’s performance in the general election.

pas pkr dap stadium melawati shah alam 310308 02 For the first time, the party secured a venue of this size for a rally in Selangor and for many supporters and party leaders, this historic moment was long overdue.

Like many, last night was the first time PAS vice-president Nasharuddin Mat Isa had ever set foot into Stadium Melawati.

"I can see that this stadium was prepared for PAS a long time ago because the roof had already been painted green (by the previous Barisan Nasional state government)," said Nasharuddin, to long spells of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ as the crowd looked up in amazement.

Carnival-like atmosphere

Nasharuddin was among the party’s top brass who attended the event.

Other dignitaries included party president Abdul Hadi Awang, Selangor Menteri Besar and PKR secretary-general Khalid Ibrahim and PAS Selangor chief Dr Hasan Mohammad Ali.

pas pkr dap stadium melawati shah alam 310308 01 Despite the event being confirmed at the eleventh hour on March 28, the stellar line-up managed to draw party supporters from far and near causing severe traffic jams outside the stadium.

All sorts of stalls were lined up along the pathway to the stadium entrance that resembled a carnival-like atmosphere rather than a political rally.

Inside the stadium, the event began with prayers in gratitude for the party’s showings and the formation of the new state government. This was followed by nasyid performances before the politicians began their speeches.

In keeping with the party’s strict protocol, speeches made by PAS leaders were punctuated by loud chants of Allahu Akhbar (God is great) while rousing applause was reserved for the sole non-Muslim speaker of the night Ronnie Liu who represented DAP.

'No one will be left behind'

Hasan, a former motivational speaker and now Selangor executive council member, told the crowd that they were gathered to celebrate the victory of the people and not the party.

"PAS will ensure that no one would be left behind. People of all races and religions will be placed on the main stage," he added to loud chants of approval.

khalid ibrahim selangor mb pc 260308 03 In his speech, Khalid went to great lengths to extend his appreciation to voters, party workers and ally PAS who helped him win the Ijok state seat and the Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary seat.

"In Bandar Tun Razak, they organised programmes for me. I didn’t even have to give that many ceramah .

"They were also supportive in Ijok. Some of them told me that ‘It's okay to lose. Losing is normal’. But they still helped me win," he added.

Towards the end of the event, it was also announced that PAS’ labour day celebrations will be held in the same stadium on May 1.