Too close for comfort as PKR ceramah turns ugly

(The Star) – Two rival ceramahs organised by Umno and PKR, barely 100 metres away from each other, turned ugly on Thursday night.

The PKR ceramah featured party leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his daughter, Nurul Izzah, who is the MP of Lembah Pantai, where the ceramahs were held.

The crowd at the PKR ceramah was reportedly pelted with stones, eggs and water bottles. A group of youths was earlier seen unfurling an anti Anwar banner which read “Anwar causes violence in this country.”

A person was reported to have suffered injuries on the head as a result of an object thrown.

The Umno ceramah featured Ummi Hafilda, a fiery speaker, who is also the sister of Anwar’s deputy, Azmin Ali. In her nationwide ceramah tour, Ummi has often chosen to speak at ceramahs near PKR ceramahs where Anwar was a speaker.

The Lembah Pantai parliamentary constituency has become a hot seat as Minister of Federal Territories and Urban Well-being Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin is making a strong bid to wrest the seat from PKR vice-president Nurul.

Nurul’s political secretary Fahmi Fadzil said Friday that Nurul would be making a police report just before a noon press conference to be held at PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya on Friday.