Umno sends direct message to Nizar

FORMER Perak menteri besar Datuk Seri Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin caught everyone by surprise when he intruded on an Umno ceramah in Kampar last Sunday.

His unconventional act of walking into an event of the opposing party's in Tualang Sekah that night raised many eyebrows, as well as the temperature of the intensifying contest between Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat for popularity in the state.

It was a display of theatrics that even got some in Umno agreeing with the opposition that Nizar had been audacious in gatecrashing a ceramah specifically organised to attack him.

Nizar, Perak Pakatan Rakyat's candidate for menteri besar in the approaching 13th general election, is the main target of Perak Umno's ongoing "Nizar The Serial Liar" ceramah series.

On Sunday, the Pasir Panjang assemblyman and Bukit Gantang member of Parliament strode into an Umno ceramah and sat on an empty chair beside Kampar Umno division chief Datuk Radzi Manan, smiling and acknowledging those in the Umno crowd for about half an hour, during which a former Parti Keadilan Rakyat leader, Hanafiah Man, lashed out at the "lies" Nizar had purportedly spread about his successor, Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.

Just 200 metres away, a Pas crowd was waiting for the Perak opposition leader to speak at the Islamist party's ceramah. Many did not know that he had made a stop at the Umno event.

Nizar defended his intrusion at the Umno ceramah, saying he wanted to know what lies he had told.

He had stayed despite the audience asking him to leave.

The night's incident, which went viral in cyberspace with video clips and comments posted both in pro-BN and pro-Pakatan Rakyat blogs, caused political circles to wonder with bated breath whether Nizar's Tualang Sekah act would be repeated in Simpang, Taiping, on Wednesday.

It did not happen.

The Pas leader did not barge into the Umno ceramah at Kg Jelapang community hall, just 200 metres from where Pas held its own ceramah at its Pusat Tarbiyyah. Nizar stayed put in the Pas camp.

The Perak Umno information bureau had decided to hold its ceramah within hearing distance of the opposition ceramah that had Nizar as speaker to send a message to the ousted menteri besar to stop spreading lies about the BN state government and Dr Zambry.

The bureau makes it a point to screen video clips during its ceramah as evidence that Nizar had been misleading the public with baseless allegations aimed at discrediting BN.

It also welcomes Nizar on its stage to answer what the Umno speakers have said about him.

Tonight's "showdown" in Batu Kurau is one to watch as the opposition is featuring, among others, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, besides Nizar, while the Umno ceramah some distance away is said to be armed with the necessary bullets to shoot down Nizar's "lies".

This backdrop indicates how keenly and closely the election will be fought in Perak, as both sides of the political divide eagerly await the opportunity to settle old scores.

Both the Umno-led BN and the opposition alliance of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat, Pas and the DAP have expressed confidence of victory.

Leaders claim voter data analysis and ground surveys show an even score or slight advantage for one side or the other.

The main battle is expected to be in 19 of the 59 state seats where the winning majorities in 2008 were less than a thousand votes.

BN's problem is in the Chinese- majority areas, mainly in the Kinta Valley, encompassing the parliamentary seats of Ipoh Timur, Ipoh Barat, Tambun, Batu Gajah, Kampar and Gopeng, all of which are held by DAP.

Although BN says it now has up to 30 per cent Chinese support in some areas, it is thought that the ruling coalition will still have to depend on the Malay and Indian vote to stay in power.

A setback for BN is that the Indian votes it needs to tilt the balance for a comfortable win are located in Chinese-majority seats. BN says it now has between 45 and 60 per cent Indian support.

BN claims it is enjoying between 65 and 68 per cent Malay support in the state while its opponent says it needs around 40 per cent support from the community to retake Perak.

There are 37 state seats where Malay voters make up 50 per cent or more of the electorate. Umno contested 34 and lost seven in 2008.

BN now rules with 28 seats, including four BN-friendly assemblymen.

The anticipation of a tight and finely poised contest had the party workers of both sides scrambling to register as many new voters as possible during the first quarter of the year, as a result of which, a 101-year-old man was registered for the first time.

- New Straits Times