FREE DAY 2 What's happening in the by-election campaigns in the state constituencies of Kerdau and Merlimau? Quotable quotes, planned events and unplanned incidents as they take place.

 

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8am: Kerdau - BN candidate Syed Ibrahim Syed Ahmad has breakfast at Kedai Adham, Simpang Empat in Kerdau

8.30am: Merlimau - BN candidate Roslan Ahmad flags off a bicycle convoy in front of Masjid As-Sujaha.

9am: Merlimau -  Roslan attends a congkak and dam 'aji (checkers game) event at Kampung Lipat Kajang with BN youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and Youth and Sports Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek.

PAS candidate Yuhaizad Abdullah goes on a walkabout in Kampung Ayer Merbau.

9.30am: Kerdau - Syed Ibrahim to accompany Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak on his visit to Felda Jengka 23 for a meet-and-greet with settlers and the ‘virtual launch’ of a joint-venture bio-mass factory in Felda Jengka 9 and the official opening of a broadband centre and futsal hall.

9.30am: Merlimau - Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Tan Lian How officiates a consumerism awareness campaign at SRJK (C) Merlimau.

10am: Merlimau -  Roslan attends an event with the disabled and Chief Minister Mohd Ali Rustam at Politeknik Merlimau.

10.30am: Merlimau - Ahmad Shabery officiates a football match at SK Chinchin.

10.45am:

Merlimau - Ahmad Shabery attends high-tea with youth leaders in Chinchin.

11am:

Kerdau - PAS holds its daily press conference at its operations centre in Kerdau. They are to raise their claim that government religious authorities have taken over control of all 22 mosques in Kerdau to stop PAS leaders from speaking to the mosque-goers.

11am: Merlimau - PAS gives a press conference at their operations centre. They say it will be a 50-50 fight for the seat.

11.30am: Kerdau - Najib Abdul azak has a meet-the-people session at Felda Jengka 22. His wife, Rosmah Mansor, at the same time holds a separate function to give aid to the less fortunate, after which she visits four settlers who are either aged or disabled in the Felda settlement.

11.30am: Merlimau - At PAS’s press conference at their operations centre, national election director Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman today expressed his confidence on winning the Merlimau by-election by a narrow 61-vote margin .

He says they can achieve this if they can get 45 percent Malay, 75 percent Chinese and 40 percent Indian votes.

Despite the fact that PAS has never won any seat in Merlimau, Abdul Rahim claims they have already garnered 41 percent of Malay votes, and they need just 4 percent more to take Merlimau.

He added PAS had deployed its members to do a house to house survey.

11.40am: Merlimau - Residents from a village in the interior of the constituency express their concern over the mass arrests of Hindraf supporters ( below ) in Kuala Lumpur in a conversation with Malaysiakini .

They received a text message alert from a friend in Kuala Lumpur about it early this morning.

"Human rights in Malaysia is zero. You can't say anything. Once you say anything, that's it, ISA for you," said one resident who declined to be named.

Another said that the government could have easily solved the Interlok issue through a meaningful dialogue early into the debate.

"We ask but they don't answer, so now we have to bark like a dog and then they catch us," he said. 

11.45am: Merlimau - Ahmad Shabery presents gifts to telematch winners at SK Terentang, Chinchin.

12.30pm: Merlimau - Ahmad Shabery flags off a motorcycle convoy at Ayer Merbau.  

12.30 pm:  Merlimau - PAS candidate Yuhaizad Abdullah, his brother Yuzaidi and mother Fatimah hold a press conference at their family home in Kampung Chinchin to rebut rumours that he is going against his family's wishes in contesting.

The rumour that he does not receive the support of his family, many of whom are civil servants began circulating yesterday. 

Yuhaizad also denies that his wife Shakila Mohamad, is unhappy with his decision as she is a schoolteacher.

1pm: Merlimau - 12 people representing Chinese associations across Malacca arrive in Merlimau to distribute their suqiu (demands) on vernacular schools.

They distribute flyers to about 60 shops and urge voters to demand that the BN and PAS candidates take a stand on the issue.

They will later go door-to-door in the residential areas. 

12.45pm: Kerdau - Najib visits the third and largest Felda settlement in Kerdau, Jengka 25, for another meet-the-people session. He is expected to hold a press conference there.

1.30pm: Kerdau - PAS candidate Hassanhuddin Salim performs Zohor prayers with residents of Bukit Ketumbit. From there he will proceed to a wedding in Desa Murni.

From 2.30pm he will then make house to  house visits at Kg Teluk Sentangtill 8.30pm.

2.15pm: Kerdau - Najib hits Kampung Baru Sawar for a meet-the-people session.

3pm: Kerdau - Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob presents a hearse, donated by Bank Rakyat, at the community hall of Felda Jengka 22.

3.30pm: Kerdau - Najib has a meeting with representatives from the Chinese, Indian and Orang Asli communities at the Kerdau ballot box operations centre.

3.40pm : Merlimau - The media room is abuzz with news that the chairperson of MIC Jalan Langat branch in Kota Raja, Klang Sinnapan Gopal, suffered a heart attack and subsequently fell to his death from the fourth floor of a building in Tanjung Bidara, Malacca where he was attending a course.

His body has been sent to the Malacca General Hospital for a post-mortem.

4.38pm: Kerdau - Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak pokes fun at Pakatan Rakyat, particularly PKR, during a meet-the-people session at Kerdau town.

"There is no unity in the opposition. At first their slogan was 'Reformasi', now it's ' Baling Kerusi !' (throw chairs)," he said during his speech, referring to the alleged altercations that happened during PKR's party elections last year.

9pm: Kerdau - Popular PAS leader Mohamad Sabu and Abu Bakar Chik speak at a ceramah at Felda Jengka 23.

9.15pm: Merlimau - PAS' Yuhaizad Abdullah gets a warm welcome from a mostly Chinese crowd of about 60 people, who have gathered to hear Ayer Keroh assemblyperson Khoo Poay Tiong speak in DAP's meet-the-voters session at Taman Harmoni.

The PAS candidate does not offer a handshake to the women present, but does so when some extend their handshakes.

His two-minute speech is received with hoots and applause. A middle-aged Chinese man tells Malaysiakini he is not afraid of PAS.

"Malaysia is already an Islamic country, so what's the difference?" he says.

9.30pm: Kerdau - Hassanuddin Salim joins his deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa for a ceramah at Felda Jengka 22, after which he will move on to Felda Jengka 23 to join the ceramah there at 10.30pm. 

10pm: Kerdau - PAS youth hosts a barbecue at Desa Murni, Kerdau. PAS deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa is expected to be the guest-of-honour.