70,000 swarm Johor Pakatan ceramahs
The Pakatan Rakyat ceramahs in Johor are pulling in bigger and bigger crowds.
Leven Woon, FMT
A tremor hit Johor, the Barisan Nasional stronghold, when tens of thousands of people flocked to Pakatan Rakyat ceramahs featuring Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim at different locations last night.
At the Pakatan “grand” ceramah held at an open carpark of a shopping complex – Sutera Mall – near Gelang Patah, the crowd swelled to 70,000 when Anwar arrived at 10pm.
It was the largest turnout ever seen at any political ceramah in Johor.
Near Johor Baru, some 10,000 people thronged the PKR ceramah held outside of Larkin Stadium despite the venue being dimly-lit.
The “strong winds” also swept through a Malay village in Pasir Gudang as thousands of people turned up at a PKR ceramah in Kampung Pasir Putih.
The highlight of the Gelang Patah ceramah was when Anwar went onto the stage with DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang. Holding their arms aloft, Anwar and Lim greeted the sea of people who were cheering and blowing vuvuzela.
“May 5, Ubah!” shouted a section of the crowd.
The crowd, some of whom arrived as early as 6pm, wore colourful T-shirts representing different civil movements and waved flags of Pakatan component parties.
Anwar, when addressing the crowd, said a historic moment is about to happen on May 5 (polling day).
“The opportunity to change the government is only a few days away; the opportunity to have a government with dignity has finally arrived,” he told the cheering crowd.
He also dismissed accusations that he is “willing” the death of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
“No, I want him to live until May 6 and watch the TV3 news of us taking over Putrajaya,” he told the boisterous crowd.
He also outlined a slew of reforms to be implemented by Pakatan as soon as it captures power: among them are abolishing the National Higher Education Funds (PTPTN) scheme, reducing petrol price and ensuring media freedom.
