Less than 24 hours before Pakatan Rakyat's mega Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat (People's Uprising Rally) is scheduled to start tomorrow, Klang Valley residents began receiving SMS invitations to a rival 'Himpunan Rakyat'.
"Himpunan Rakyat with the prime minister on Jan 12 (Saturday) at Tesco Square Bandar Rinching (in) Semenyih, 9am. Join the festivities," reads the SMS in Bahasa Malaysia, a forwarded copy of which was obtained by Malaysiakini.
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is expected to attend a gathering by Indian Progressive Front (IPF) at Dataran Tesco.
The SMS also included the ubiquitous signature "Sayangi Selangor Yakini BN (Love Selangor Believe in BN)", marking its point of origin as Selangor BN.
The matter was first spotted on social networking sites in messages posted by Klang Valley netizens, many of whom complained the messages came to their phones un-looked for.
"How did a +6014XXXXXXX number get my contact to tell me of the PM event... hmmm...." wondered one Facebook user.
This was answered by another in a comment "So much for the Data Protection Act".
"Himpunan Rakyat with the prime minister on Jan 12 (Saturday) at Tesco Square Bandar Rinching (in) Semenyih, 9am. Join the festivities," reads the SMS in Bahasa Malaysia, a forwarded copy of which was obtained by Malaysiakini.
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is expected to attend a gathering by Indian Progressive Front (IPF) at Dataran Tesco.
The SMS also included the ubiquitous signature "Sayangi Selangor Yakini BN (Love Selangor Believe in BN)", marking its point of origin as Selangor BN.The matter was first spotted on social networking sites in messages posted by Klang Valley netizens, many of whom complained the messages came to their phones un-looked for.
"How did a +6014XXXXXXX number get my contact to tell me of the PM event... hmmm...." wondered one Facebook user.
This was answered by another in a comment "So much for the Data Protection Act".
To this, the person who received the SMS replied "unfortunately, the Act is only aimed at preventing the abuse of citizens' personal data for commercial purposes. This sounds political to me. Viewed this way, there has to be amendments to include future misuse of this nature".
'Stadium Merdeka vs Tesco Semenyih'
The SMS missive also received the same ridicule on micro-blog Twitter.
"Berbicara tentang KL112 ni, tadi saya dapat mesej jemputan Himpunan Rakyat bersama PM yang berlangsung esok (This talk about KL112, I received a text invite for Himpunan Rakyat bersama PM taking place tomorrow). I smell something fishy, LOL," reads one message.
Meanwhile, another user joked that the public should avoid Tesco tomorrow.
One Twitter user even questioned the wisdom behind the scheduling of the event, saying: "Why is Selangor BN telling people the PM will be in Tesco Semenyih tomorrow? -_- Sigh. Whoever does their public relations (PR) needs a talking-to".
Others labeled the two rival rallies as a titanic battle of wills between Pakatan and BN, calling it "Stadium Merdeka vs Tesco Semenyih".
The Semenyih gathering is part of the prime minister's blitz as Selangor Umno chief ahead of general election. Najib is also scheduled to attend a Ponggal event in Klang on Sunday.
'Stadium Merdeka vs Tesco Semenyih'
The SMS missive also received the same ridicule on micro-blog Twitter.
"Berbicara tentang KL112 ni, tadi saya dapat mesej jemputan Himpunan Rakyat bersama PM yang berlangsung esok (This talk about KL112, I received a text invite for Himpunan Rakyat bersama PM taking place tomorrow). I smell something fishy, LOL," reads one message.
Meanwhile, another user joked that the public should avoid Tesco tomorrow.
One Twitter user even questioned the wisdom behind the scheduling of the event, saying: "Why is Selangor BN telling people the PM will be in Tesco Semenyih tomorrow? -_- Sigh. Whoever does their public relations (PR) needs a talking-to".Others labeled the two rival rallies as a titanic battle of wills between Pakatan and BN, calling it "Stadium Merdeka vs Tesco Semenyih".
The Semenyih gathering is part of the prime minister's blitz as Selangor Umno chief ahead of general election. Najib is also scheduled to attend a Ponggal event in Klang on Sunday.
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