Speak for me, ‘new face’ Anwar tells PD voters

PORT DICKSON: PKR president-elect Anwar Ibrahim last night urged voters to assist him on his campaign trail in Port Dickson, especially when he is unable to be physically present in the constituency.

“I will be in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 1 to give a talk for a programme organised by the Indian government which will be broadcast in India (in commemoration of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary).

“So I am requesting to be away for about three hours. I don’t want people to think, where is the candidate, why isn’t he in Port Dickson. That too is dangerous,” he told a ceramah at Sri Tanjung.

Anwar, who was formerly Permatang Pauh MP, also acknowledged that he was a “new face” in Port Dickson but said he was “chosen by his friends in Pakatan Harapan” to replace Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“So I want a strong mandate in order for me to speak bravely, to defend the fate of Port Dickson constituents, and to be firm.

“I want the people with me, and to support me.”

He called on members of the audience to visit their friends whom he might not have the opportunity to meet during his campaign period.

“I wouldn’t do such things in Permatang Pauh as people already know me,” he added. “So it is better that I admit I am a new face here. There are many villages that I have yet to visit, and many whom I don’t know personally yet.”

The Port Dickson seat was vacated by its MP, Danyal Balagopal Abdullah, to facilitate Anwar’s efforts to return to Parliament.

Danyal, a former naval officer, won the seat in the May 9 polls with 36,225 votes, beating Barisan Nasional’s VS Mogan (18,515 votes) and PAS’ Mahfuz Roslan (6,594 votes).

Anwar said he would be working hard for the by-election and would not take things lightly.

“People say I will surely win, but I don’t want it to be this way. We have to go to the ground and make sure that everyone comes out to vote.

“Wouldn’t I be ashamed if I won but only narrowly? Imagine when they announce, ‘In Port Dickson, the winner is Anwar Ibrahim with a majority of 280.’ Wouldn’t that be embarrassing?

“Of course it is important to win, but the majority won by Danyal was big,” he said. -FMT