Political temperatures in Taiping, which means everlasting peace in Chinese, rose a few notches today as the town played host for the Bukit Gantang by-election nomination process.

Thousands of supporters from both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat thronged the town to accompany their respective candidates to the Taiping town hall, where the nominations took place.

bukit gantang by election nomination day crowd shots 290309 03 Pakatan supporters, comprising overwhelmingly of green-clad PAS supporters, began marching through Jalan Kota towards the nomination centre as early as 7.30am.

They rocked the quiet town with loud slogans that were clearly audible at the Taiping Umno division headquarters where BN supporters were assembling.

At 9.05am, BN supporters arrived at the Taiping Esplanade, next to the town hall, only to be confronted by an estimated 20,000 strong crowd of Pakatan supporters who welcomed their rivals with loud chants of “ rasuah (corruption)”.

BN supporters, which were estimated to be around 5,000 people, replied with: " Bangkit ayuh bangkit, anak perak bangkit, lawan kita lawan, lawan penderhaka sultan (We will fight the traitor to the sultan)" and “ Hidup BN ”.

bukit gantang by election nomination day crowd shots 290309 02 Barbwires and riot police lined up on the edges of the field separated the crowds. At times, the scene resembled rabid slogan chanting and drum-beating football fans at a derby, but the only “players” on the field were the police.

The BN crowd however thinned out at about 10am, as many sought refuge from the sun. But the PAS crowd, who were shaded by a hill and trees, were unrelenting in their chants and even pulled off a series of “Mexican Waves”.

Leaders from both sides heckled

bukit gantang nomination day bn vip side 290309 01 Though the two rival camps were kept far apart, leaders from both sides were subjected to verbal abuse from supporters.

Newly-elected Umno Youth chief, Khairy Jamaluddin, however took the heckling in his stride and walked up to a large group of PAS supporters near the fence of the nomination centre to shake their hands.

Reactions from the PAS supporters were mixed. Some of them even seemed confused.

Though most whom Khairy approached shook his hand, the rest chanted “rasuah” relentlessly, to which the Rembau MP replied with a smile.

bukit gantang parliamentary seat 090209 DAP chairperson, Karpal Singh, however were given a harder time by BN supporters who pelted his MPV with water bottles while he was on his way to the nomination centre.

“There were quite a few (bottles thrown)… Umno must stop this culture of violence. In any event, it will not hinder Pakatan from going all out to ensure a thumping majority,” he told reporters later.

Ironically, Karpal - who once sarcastically declared that there would be an Islamic state over his dead body - was seated next to PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang at the nomination centre.

The wheelchair-bound presence of Karpal to support PAS in this election is significant as he has had several run-ins with the PAS leader.

Karpal lodged a police report on the incident at about 1.30pm today.

Nizar first to show up at centre

bukit gantang nomination day candidates and vips 290309 07 PAS candidate Mohd Nizar Jamaluddn was the first to show up at the nomination centre and officially filed his papers at 9.06am.

This was followed by BN candidate Ismail Saffian at about 9.20am and independent candidate Kamarul Ramizu Idris.

While both PAS and BN candidate were wearing baju melayu with their respective party colours green and blue, Kamarul, however, chose more modern garb and showed up all in black - including black aviator glasses and thin tie.

bukit gantang by election 290309 bebas independent candidate Kamarul, 49, a businessman, told reporters that he has no political backings but wants to spread his message of national unity.

Although three objections was lodged, returning officer Mahmod Morsidi announced at 11.15am that all three nominations were accepted.

Speaking to reporters later, BN by-election director Muhyiddin Yassin said Mohd Nizar’s candidacy does not pose a threat to BN’s chances of bagging the seat.

“It is their right in a democratic country to field whoever they want,” said Muhyiddin, adding that Mohd Nizar shouldn’t contest as he already has duties as a state assemblyperson.

bukit gantang nomination day candidates and vips 290309 01 He said that voters are unlikely to be persuaded by Pakatan’s position on BN’s takeover of the Perak government.

BN confident of a win

“I believe that the voters would not be easiliy taken in because the Perak government is legal and received the consent of the Perak sultan…

"There is no reason for voters to sympathise with the opposition. We will explain this issue to voters during campaigning,” Muhyiddin added.

bukit gantang by election nomination day crowd shots 290309 04 Meanwhile, BN Perak Menteri Besar Zambry Abd Kadir expressed confidence that Ismail will pull off a win, judging by initial feedback from voters.

“On the opposition side, they are going to play up national issues. But when it comes to Perak, they have to be very careful because it all boils down to the sultan,” he said.

Mohd Nizar, who was ousted as menteri besar last month, said the by-election was a chance for Bukit Gantang voters to express dissatisfaction in BN’s controversial power grab in the state.

bukit gantang nomination day bn vip side 290309 02 “What is happening in Perak is a serious conflict between the truth and falsehood. Pakatan represents the truth and those who rob the state represents falsehood,” he said after his nominations were accepted.

Mohd Nizar also made his often repeated call for his supporters not to engage in any unlawful activities.

Meanwhile, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang told reporters that the Bukit Gantang by-election was crucial as a convincing win by Mohd Nizar may result in BN calling for snap polls in the state.

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