Nizar a 'modern-day Tun Perak'

Anwar Ibrahim's maiden foray into the Bukit Gantang by-election campaign began last night with him defending PAS candidate Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin over the thorny 'derhaka' issue.

Umno has being raising the issue to the hilt in a bid to turn Malay voters against Mohd Nizar for defying the Perak sultan's order for the former to quit as menteri besar in early February.

This was following Mohd Nizar's public admission that he had used court language - " patik mohon derhaka (I have betrayed you)" - to indicate he was not resigning as the state assembly was not dissolved, nor has he lost a vote of no-confidence.

Speaking at back-to-back ceramah in Pekan Terong and Sungai Tinggi - both numbering at around 500 to 600 people - Anwar likened Mohd Nizar's defiance to that of the famous Tun Perak.

Quoting from Chapter 18 of Hikayat Hang Tuah - an account of one of the most famous Malay warriors - Anwar explained how Tun Perak (prime minister) had defied the Malacca sultan's decision to have Hang Tuah (admiral) executed.

'Nizar is loyal to the Sultan'

Instead, Tun Perak, who knew that Hang Tuah was framed, brought the latter into hiding. When the sultan found that Hang Tuah was indeed framed and regretted ordering his execution, Tun Perak was compelled to admit that Hang Tuah was indeed alive.

"Tun Perak told the sultan 'ampun tuanku, beribu-ribu ampun, sembah patik mohon diampun, sembah derhaka patik pohonkan' (Please forgive me, for I have betrayed you).

"See? It is in Hikayat Hang Tuah ! I hope Umno people know their history. They only know how to ' sembah balak patik nak ambil (ask for logging contracts)", he told the crowd who gathered despite the drizzle.

"Nizar is like Tun Perak. He is loyal. He follows the sultan's orders. But when he needs to explain something to the sultan, he'd beg for forgiveness and ' sembah derhaka patik ' because he wants to protect the interest of the people from a power grab," added Anwar.

The PKR supremo also defended Mohd Nizar for granting land titles to Chinese new villages during his short 11-month tenure as menteri besar before being ousted by the BN.

He said that Umno was practising double standards as there were many cases of Chinese tycoons being given huge plots of land without any protest from the party.

"The gave one mountain (Genting Highlands) to Lim Goh Tong, one hill (Bukit Tinggi) to Vincent Tan and one island (Pangkor Laut) to YTL (Francis Yeoh). Is there a single Umno leader who protested?" he said.

Anwar boost for campaign

Anwar urged the crowd to spread the word that Mohd Nizar was among the handful of chief executives of states that were incorruptible and humble.

"Look at his record. Which land has he stolen? Which property has he taken? Which logging (contract) did he take? How can you say he is a betrayer?

"What about that former menteri besar from Umno? He took RM1.3 million of state funds to fund himself, and his wife and family, to a trip to Disneyland!" he exclaimed.

Anwar then ended his speech with a parting shot: "When our opponents mess with our leaders, we will defend him until the very end."

In the ongoing Bukit Gantang campaign, Umno has been using both the 'derhaka' issue and claims that Mohd Nizar was a DAP stooge as their main campaign topics.

Anwar's presence in Bukit Gantang is considered a great boost to Mohd Nizar's campaign, which is widely held to be trailing in terms of Malay votes.

Both of Anwar's ceramah venues last night were in the Trong state constituency, where BN won with a slim majority of 916 votes during the March 2008 general election.

The rural Trong state seat was the sole one which did not fall into the hands of Pakatan Rakyat within the Bukit Gantang parliamentary constituency.

Pakatan is expected to intensify its campaign in this area in the coming days with Pakatan bigwigs including PAS vice-president Husam Musa and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng visiting the area.

Anwar is expected to return for a full-day campaigning on Sunday.