They may be old now and carry the baggage of their past, but the reunification of three of Malaysia’s former political juggernauts was something to behold for many Malaccans.
Tonight, thousands of people swarmed a small stage in the Bukit Piatu suburbs to catch a glimpse of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Daim Zainuddin and Rafidah Aziz – former Umno top brass who are now seeking to overthrow their former party.
Rafidah, the former Wanita Umno leader and long-time member of Mahathir’s cabinet, arrived first, urging Malaysians to “change contractors” that would run the country.
“Cancel the old contract (with BN) so that Harapan can fix the mistakes,” she urged the ethnically-mixed crowd.
By the time she was midway through her speech, the crowd had already spilled onto the streets.
Hundreds of latecomers were forced to watch from across the road, behind a massive and unpleasant-smelling monsoon drain.
When Mahathir finally hit the rostrum, he reminded Malaccans of the significance of Dataran Pahlawan – the site where Malayans received Tunku Abdul Rahman after his return from London after negotiating the country’s independence.
“There has never been such a crowd of Malaccans before. I was there when Tunku Abdul Rahman came back from Europe with news that we would have our independence in 1957.
“That was a historical event. But I am confident that the crowd then, despite its significance, was not as big as the one we have today,” he said.
Mahathir said he was confident that the impressive turnout tonight showed that the participants were confident that BN was about to lose the election.
At one point, Mahathir, sensing that the crowd was also building behind the stage, turned back, only to be greeted by deafening chants of “Hidup Tun” (long live Tun).
Malacca has long been an Umno stronghold. During the last general election, BN formed the state government with slightly over two-thirds of the seats.
Night turns electric as 10,000 chant Dr M’s name
11.35pm: Bukit Katil, Malacca – At its peak, the crowd at the Pakatan Harapan ceramah perdana here is close to 10,000.
The atmosphere is electrifying as the crowd cheers and applauds throughout Harapan chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s speech.
Mahathir says caretaker prime minister Najib Abdul Razak has his own philosophy in life. Before he can complete his sentence, however, the crowd shouted back, “Cash is king.”
“Wow, you already know. I don’t have to ceramah anymore,” he joked, to laughter from the crowd.
At one point, he turns around to face the crowd behind the stage, which spilled out onto the main road.
Without even saying anything, the crowd there begin to cheer. He turns just slightly to the side, where more of the crowd was gathered, and got a similar reaction.
“This has never happened to me before,” he says, before the crowd began to chant “Hidup Tun” (long live Tun) over and over again.
When Mahathir ends his speech, the crowd breaks out into thunderous applause and chants of “Hidup Tun” ring out again.
Many rush towards the stage in an attempt to take pictures with the prominent figures on the stage, especially Mahathir, his wife Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali and former Umno ministers Rafidah Aziz and Daim Zainuddin.
Eventually, the tightly packed crowd begin to disperse. Most head to their cars, while others head to the variety of food trucks parked towards each end of the street.
Bukit Katil, Malacca – The crowd goes wild when Pakatan Harapan chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad arrives at the ceramah perdana here.
Cheers and applause fill the air as his arrival is announced.
As Mahathir made his way through the crowd with his entourage, the crowd pushed to get a better view of him, with many climbing onto chairs to take pictures of the ex-premier.
Another round of cheers greet his arrival onstage. His wife, Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, receives similarly resounding applause.
The crowd is well over 5,000 now, with half of the crowd spilling over to part of the main road parallel to the shop lots.
DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng addresses the crowd spilling over to the main road behind the stage during his speech.
“I didn’t know there were more of you behind,” he says. – MKINI
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