Lousy weekend for Pakatan

Three gala events failed to draw the crowds or create new excitement.

GEORGE TOWN: It was a lacklustre weekend in Penang for Pakatan Rakyat. The three gala functions it held to generate a fresh momentum of support were poorly attended and one of them even became an occasion for critics to put Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng in their line of fire.

On Friday evening, Pakatan leaders turned up at a rally to mark the fifth anniversary of the landmark 2008 election, which heralded the emergence of a two-party system in Malaysian politics.

The turnout at the historic Esplanade grounds was below average by Pakatan standards and had become even smaller by the time Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim took to the podium.

Noticeably missing from the event were top PAS leaders.

At the Penang Pakatan convention on Saturday, the hall at Komtar was more than half empty, even when Anwar arrived.

On Sunday, Lim had to face a hostile audience at the Penang Forum, a platform for NGOs and prominent persons to debate issues of public interest.

Sunday’s topic was the controversial multi-billion-ringgit traffic improvement project, which would cover a tunnel connecting the island with Seberang Prai and two highways linking high-density areas on the island.

Some members of the audience heckled at Lim as he spoke and one participant made his speech from the floor in screams.

The NGOs were generally supportive of the mega project, but a number of their representatives criticised the state government for pushing it through without consulting the public.

Nibong Tebal MP Tan Tee Beng said Lim got the same medicine that his predecessor Koh Tsu Koon used to get and was probably learning how hostile Penang folk could become.

He said the poor turnout at the three events indicated that there were cracks in the Pakatan alliance.

“I think many leaders in Pakatan are now jostling to contest in the coming election,” he said. “The infighting is starting to show.

“Normally, we associate BN with the practice of sabotage by disappointed would-be election candidates. Now it’s Pakatan’s turn.”

However, he added, the poor turnout at the three events did not necessarily mean that overall support for Pakatan in Penang was eroding.

“It just means that they can no longer ride the populist wave they have been enjoying,” he said.

People are concerned
One of the public figures who attended the Sunday forum was Penang Gerakan official Rowena Yam.

Yam said her anxieties about the undersea tunnel were not allayed at the forum.

“How come no environmental impact report was done before the proposal went public?” she asked. “More questions than answers have emerged after the forum.”

Another forum participant, Leong Han Lee, said she was impressed to see a long line of people asking questions from Lim.

“This shows people are concerned about their beloved Penang,” she said.

She called on politicians from both Pakatan and BN to give more attention to Seberang Perai when considering construction projects because of its larger land bank and population compared to the island portion of the state.