FREE DAY 5 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.
8.30am Merlimau: BN candidate Roslan Ahmad and his wife Zalifah Omar have breakfast with the media at his house at Merlimau Pasir.
His wife Zalimah (
right
), who works in the statistics department, shyly admits she is ready to be a YB's wife.
In fact ever since nomination day on Feb 26, some people have started to address her as ‘YB'.
9am Kerdau: BN candidate Syed Ibrahim Syed Ahmad will go down to Ladang Kerdau to meet with voters and residents. Later at 10.30am, he will meet voters at Kg Guntung Kelibang, followed by another meet-and-greet at Kg Kuala Kerdau at noon.
9.25am Merlimau: BN candidate Roslan Ahmad announces he has launched his third Facebook account in a press conference at his house.
It will be used to update his activities and communicate with the public, and respond to criticism. He says this is the way to interact with younger people.
The other two Facebook accounts are meant for personal use.
A little later, Roslan receives news that a long time family friend passed away today.
He rearranges his programme for the day so that he can visit the deceased's family.
Roslan's mood brightens when a student of his father, Maah Adiwot, 77, visits him. Although hard of hearing, the elderly lady manages a short and amusing chat.
When asked which subject was taught by Roslan's father, she answers,"My father long gone, my mother long gone, I am like an orphan."
When asked if she liked Roslan to compete for the Merlimau seat, she says, "Sukan(sport), ok, thank you very much."
Roslan's supporters then try to get her to say "hidup BN" as well as "1Malaysia".
"Ya ya ....satu saja, Merdeka ...hidup bahagia (Yes yes, independent....live happily)", is her response.
11am Kerdau: Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob will launch a "Student Excellence Programme with the Menteri Besar" at SK Kerdau.
11.20am Merlimau: Roslan visits the Jasin Municipal Council staff stationed at a bazaar market near Merlimau Point.
When asked about the excitement caused by PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim's appearance which attracted a crowd of over a thousand, hinting that Pakatan's support is picking up, he refuses to tackle the question, saying: "Never mind, I will answer later."
11.45am Merlimau: Roslan pays his respects to his deceased friend.
12pm Kerdau: Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Razali Ibrahim will host a luncheon with young voters at Rumah Johor in Lipat Kajang.
1pm Merlimau: BN candidate Roslan Ahmad walkabout at Kg Ayer Merbau.
1pm
- PAS candidate Yuhaizad Abdullah (
right
) to visit patients at Hospital Jasin.
1.30pm Kerdau: BN candidate Syed Ibrahim Syed Ahmad will have lunch with voters at kedai makan Adham at Simpang Empat.
2pm Merlimau: Police bar PKR vice-president Tian Chua from leaving the DAP operations room at Merlimau town, insisting he follow them to the police station.
He is not told the reason.
"I called the OCPD, who said they wanted to check my car road tax, licence and engine number, so I said we can show the officer here," Tian Chua said.
"The OCPD then shouted at me, saying he has the power to detain my car.
"So I told him I would only go to the police station if he produced a 112 statement," he said.
They later contacted the Election Commission, which said a complaint was received from the Jasin police station, and that it was illegal for Chua to broadcast campaign messages using a loudhailer as it disturbed the peace.
"So I told them I will turn it off and they let me go, although I think the excuse is an after-thought as they could have told me that an hour-and-a half-earlier," he said when contacted.
2pm Kerdau: PAS candidate Hassanuddin Salim and party central leaders will visit voters at Felda Jengka 25.
2.30pm Kerdau: Deputy Human Resource Minister Maznah Mazlan will present Perkeso contributions at the BN command centre in Kerdau.
2.30pm
Merlimau: Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Jalil (
right
) to attend Program Salam Sayang at Merlimau Timur.
2.30pm Kerdau: BN candidate Syed Ibrahim Syed Ahmad will meet with voters at Kg Paya Taram, and later perform his Asar prayers at the Bandar Kerdau mosque.
3pm Merlimau: Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Ahmad Maslan to accompany BN candidate Roslan Ahmad in a walkabout at Permatang Serai.
3.15pm Kerdau: Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Noh Omar will launch a Tekun Nasional entrepreneurship seminar at the Felda Jengka 23 multi-purpose hall.
3.29pm Merlimau: Postal voters cast their ballots at the Jasin district and land office.
According to Bernama , all the 36 postal voters are police personnel. Thirty-one police personnel, among them four women, cast their ballots from 11.30am.
Five police personnel, who are on outstation duty, will have their ballots posted to them, said returning officer Roslan Eusoff.
"The voting proceeded smoothly," he was quoted as saying.
3.45pm
Merlimau: Malacca chief minister Mohd Ali Rustam (
right
) to launch an event at SK Chenderah.
4.15pm Kerdau: Postal voting for the Kerdau state by-election is to be conducted tomorrow, from 3pm to 5pm, for the 54 postal voters, said a spokesperson of the Election Commission.
According to Bernama , he said the EC would issue the ballots at 10am to the 15 police personnel and 39 EC workers.
"The police personnel will vote at the Kerdau police station and the EC workers, at the Temerloh municipal council hall ," he was quoted as saying.
4.30pm Kerdau: PAS candidate Hassanuddin Salim returns to Rumpun Makmor, where he will first perform his Asar prayers before a meet-and-greet with voters at their night market and have high tea with youths.
4.30pm Merlimau: Ahmad to attend an afternoon tea gathering with voters in Pengkalan Samak.
5pm Kerdau: Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Razali Ibrahim to attend a youth futsal match at the Desa Murni futsal court.
5pm Merlimau: Mohd Ali to hand aid to the poor at Merlimau Pasir mosque.
5pm Kerdau: BN candidate Syed Ibrahim Syed Ahmad will meet hawkers and voters at the Simpang Empat Kerdau night market.
5pm Merlimau: MCA president Chua Soi Lek is due to attend an event here.
5.08pm Kerdau - Lim Ah Lek, the former deputy president of MCA, refused to comment on the party's former president Ling Liong Sik and former deputy president Chan Kong Choy, who have been charged in court with crimes related to the PKFZ scandal.
"We are here for the by-election. Nothing to do with that," he told the press during the walkabout session at Kampung Baru Kerdau along with the Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai.
When asked if the PKFZ scandal and its fallout would affect BN's chances, he said, "That's a different issue. People here are more concerned about local issues."
6.15pm
Merlimau: BN candidate Roslan Ahmad is mobbed at the pasar tani where he is on a walkabout.
About 100 metres down, PAS candidate Yuhaizad Abdullah, who was driving past, winds down his window to yell out to an old man he knows. The man waves back and smiles.
6.15pm
Kerdau: Youth and Sports deputy Minister Razali Ibrahim (
left
) says PAS' efforts to discredit BN in the eyes of Felda settlers will "makan sendiri" (backfire), as the Islamist party has no real capital to substantiate their claims.
"Felda settlers have been doing so well all this while, and suddenly they come in and say that Felda is bad. The settlers will reject them for this," he says before taking part in a friendly futsal match with youths at Desa Murni, Kerdau.
6.44pm Kerdau - DAP Selangor Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lau Weng San condemns the MCA for pressurising the Chinese to vote for the BN, with threats that they might not be be able to renew their land titles if they did not.
He says in a press conference that the voting process is secret and urges the Chinese to cast their votes without fear.
6.54pm Merlimau: A murtabak stall owner looks at a flyer distributed by Puteri Umno and exclaims "Betul! Parti Ajaran Sesat!"
7.30pm
Kerdau: PAS candidate Hassanuddin Salim will perform his Maghrib prayers and attend a sermon by former Perak Menteri Besar Nizar Jamaluddin in Gunong Senyum. Later at 8.45pm he will perform his Isyak prayers in Kerai.
7.30 pm Merlimau: Ahmad to attend a prayer session at Surau Merlimau Lama.
9pm: Merlimau: A Chinese karaoke contest organised by MCA Melaka Youth sees only a sparse crowd with approximately 80 people turn up
9pm Merlimau: Ummi Hafilda Ali (above) to deliver an expose at a ceramah in Kampung Chinchin.
9pm Merlimau: Ahmad to speak at Kampung Lipat Kajang.
9.30pm Merlimau : DAP Serdang parliamentarian Teo Nie Ching whose face was superimposed in doctored lewd photos challenges BN to prove their innocence, and the police to catch the perpetrators before ballot day.
“I challenge BN to catch the culprit, or have Melaka CPO Chuah Ghee Lai changed,"she tells a ceramah at DAP’s local operation centre.
Some two hundred people turn up at the ceramah.
9.30pm Kerdau: Former Perak Menteri Besar Nizar Jamaluddin will headline a ceramah in Desa Purun, with PAS information chief Mohd Nur Manuty and PAS' Kerdau candidate Hassanuddin Salim.
10pm
Merlimau: Ahmad to speak at Ayer Merbau.
10pm Merlimau: PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang ( right ) concludes his speech in Kampung Chinchin which has attracted about 300 people.
He says that Umno would prefer that people are poor so it would be easier to control them.
His speech is similar to the one he delivered during the announcement of candidates on Feb 24.
10.10pm Merlimau: A witness in the Sodomy I trial Ummi Hafilda Ali arrives in Kampung Chinchin to make an 'expose' against Pakatan Rakyat at an Umno Jasin organised event.
She is wearing a purple baju kurung and black seledang .
About 1 kilometre away, meanwhile, Nurul Izzah ( above ) tells about 300 people that she is here because she has an obligation towards the kampung people and ordinary folk who stood up for her father in 1998 when the cabinet ministers and Umno leaders who had been his friends turned their backs.
10.12pm Merlimau: PAS candidate Yuhaizad Abdullah says that he does not want to face off Muhyiddin Yassin or Khairy Jamaluddin but with Roslan Ahmad, who is his opponent.
"Kalau saya menang, Roslan kalah itu perkara biasa," he said, to cheers from the crowd.
He speaks confidently off the cuff and says that voters can throw him in the Malacca Straits if he does not serve him well if he is elected. He ends with a pantun (verse):
"Lancang kuning lancang pusaka
Nampak jauh tanjung tuan
Kalau kering laut melaka
Baru saya lupakan tuan"
10.16pm Merlimau: Lembah Pantai parliamentarian and PKR veep Nurul Izzah Anwar begins to speak.
10.15pm Kerdau: PKR Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin will speak at a ceramah in Felda Jengka 22, together with PAS candidate Hassanuddin Salim and two others. Shamsul and Hassanuddin will later go to Felda Jengka 25 for another ceramah with Anak president Mazlan Aliman.
10.25pm
Merlimau: Nurul Izzah (
right
) tells Chinchin villagers about National Union of Journalists chief and
Utusan Malaysia
journalist Hata Wahari and how even he is now rejecting BN's take on media freedom.
10.30pm Kerdau: Former Perak menteri besar Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin trains his guns on the police, who he claims have come in at least five patrol cars to monitor his ceramah at Kg Desa Puruh.
"It's alright if you want to take my picture. If you are doing this on orders of Umno, just remember that Allah will review what you have done at the end of days.
"I urge my brothers in the police force, don't be a barua (stooge) of Umno. Because you earn your salary from the people, and what you earn will feed your family, your children," he said.
Nizar was about to continue with his ceramah, but the PA system overheated and the speech was cut short. After waiting for five minutes, he decided to leave as he had to go for another ceramah at nearby Rumpun Makmur.
10.32pm Merlimau: In true Malaccan fashion, the PAS event is also a pantun fest. Also present are PAS Selangor commissioner Hassan Ali and Kuala Krai MP Dr Mohd Hatta Ramli.
" Selangor negeri maju 2005, 2008 tukar kerajaan. Melaka negeri maju 2010, 2011 tukarlah kerajaan. Dah maju, nak takut apa? " (By 2005, Selangor was a developed state, and in 2008 it changed government. Malacca was declared a developed state in 2010, so in 2011, change, lah, the government. You're developed already, what are you afraid of?)
10.55pm
Merlimau: Ummi Hafilda is speaking to about 100 people. She calls Anwar Ibrahim the
Dajjal
(Anti-Christ).
" Demi negara, agama dan bangsa saya kembali memerangi Anwar. Jangan sampai negara tergadai kepada Yahudi. " (For my nation, religion and people, I've come back to do war against Anwar. Don't let this country go to the Jews)
She talks of the alleged affair between Anwar and Azmin Ali's wife Shamsidar Taharin.
11.21pm Merlimau: Ummi says that Malaysians should be thankful of former police chief Musa Hassan who investigated Anwar despite facing restrictions, but who nevertheless uncovered evidence of Anwar's alleged wrongdoings.
11.25pm
Merlimau: The audience, mostly middle-aged Malays, are hanging on to Ummi's every word as she recounts what happened prior to Anwar's sacking and her role in it.
11.30pm Kerdau: Former Perak Menteri Besar Nizar Jamaluddin will speak at a ceramah in Rumpun Makmor, with PKR Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin and PAS' candidate Hassanuddin Salim.
11.36pm Merlimau: Ummi: " Kalau Nik Aziz jadi PM bukan Dr Mahathir, apa yang Nik Aziz dengan muka dia yang macam komunis Chin Peng dan serban sebakul dia boleh cakap ke Madeline Albright? " (‘If Nik Aziz became PM instead of Dr Mahathir, what would he be able to do, him with a face like that communist Chin Peng and that basket of a turban? Can he speak to former US state secretary Madeline Albright?)
11.51pm
Merlimau: Ummi: "
PKR adalah Parti Kencing Rakyat. 2011 saya ajak kita semua kencing Anwar
." (PKR is the People's Piss Party. In 2011, I call on all of you, let's piss/ditch Anwar)
12.00am Merlimau: BN candidate Roslan Ahmad arrives in Chinchin and shakes Ummi's hand before taking his seat.
12.04am Merlimau- Roslan says he is proud of Ummi Hafilda whom he has met a few times, and hopes to meet more often.
Day 4: Anwar sings Tiru Macam Saya to 'someone'
