Landslide Victory by Anwar Ibrahim in Permatang Pauh

Star on line

BUKIT MERTAJAM: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has won the Permatang Pauh by-election.

The PKR de-facto leader was returned to Parliament with a majority of 15,671 votes, exceeding the 13,388-vote majority won by his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail in the March 8 general election.

Anwar garnered 31,195 votes to beat Barisan candidate Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah, who polled 15,524 votes, while Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia candidate Hanafi Hamat lost his RM15,000 deposit after getting only 92 votes. There were 447 spoilt votes.

“This is the people’s victory,” Anwar said in a victory speech.

“Permatang Pauh has given a clear signal to the leadership of this country. We demand change. We want freedom. We don’t want to live with corruption and oppression.

“We want an independent judiciary, we want the economy to benefit the vast majority not the corrupt few,” he added. [more]

Permatang Pauh: Voters go to polls early

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Star on Line

BUTTERWORTH: Voters in Permatang Pauh went to the polls Tuesday to decide who their next Member of Parliament will be.

With the meteorological department forecasting rain, several voters were out early.

Among them were Barisan Nasional candidate Arif Shah Omar Shah who cast his vote at 8.08am at SK Seberang Jaya 2.

PKR’s Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim cast his vote at 9.48am at SK Seri Penanti, Kubang Semang, while his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail cast her vote at 9.53am at the same polling station.

Fence-sitters hard to read

The Star On Line

Analysis
By JOCELINE TAN

The silence on the ground among the Malay fence-sitters in the Permatang Pauh by-election has both sides worried about which way the swing votes will go.

DATUK Seri Anwar Ibrahim is once again looking like the average Penang Malay bloke.

Days of campaigning under the sun have turned his skin several shades more tanned and dark sunspots have formed on his cheeks. And the last time he was this slim was when he was in prison.

The campaign toll has also been tough for Datuk Arif Shah Omar. He told people he has shed 5kg since the day he was picked as the Barisan Nasional candidate.

But when he stopped by at a wedding luncheon in the PAS stronghold of Guar Perahu yesterday, he ate so heartily his friend teased him: “You said you lost weight but the rice on your plate looks like a small hill.” [more]

Permatang Pauh: Let people decide, says Anwar

TheSun, Opalyn Mok

GEORGE TOWN (Aug 22, 2008): Let the people decide the outcome of the Permatang Pauh by-election and let Barisan Nasional MPs decide whether they want to cross over to PKR or not, said PKR’s de-facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar, who is one of the contenders for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat, said there is still a possibility of him winning the seat despite seemingly confident remarks by the BN and BN candidate Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah.

“We should just let the people decide on this ultimately,” he said.

As for BN’s claims that he is lying about being able to get 31 MPs to cross over to form a new government come Sept 16, Anwar said the decision lies with the MPs.

“They should let the MPs decide on whether they want to cross over or not when the time comes.”

He said it is a fact that the BN have publicly said it was impossible for the Opposition coalition to deny them a two-third majority in the March elections. [more]

Surprise small fish takes on Anwar and Arif Shah.

The Sun
By Himanshu Bhatt

SEBERANG PERAI: While PKR’s Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and BN’s Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah were, as expected, confirmed as candidates for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election, a third surprise candidate emerged from little known Islamic party, the Angkatan Insan Malaysia (Akim).

Proclaiming to offer “renewal” to Malaysian society, trader Hanafi Hamat, 61, faced reporters by refusing to feel cowed in the presence of his two heavyweight rivals.

In an atmosphere akin to a massive carnival, some 30,000 supporters from all sides converged at the Institusi Perguruan Tuanku Bainun to show their support during the nominations for the seat.

Hanafi at first passed by almost unnoticed as he walked to the nomination hall until someone alerted the press, who were caught off-guard, that he was a new candidate for the highly publicised by-election.

When met later, Hanafi said he wanted to help eradicate social ills in Permatang Pauh, and that he would take a “house-to-house” approach in his campaign over the next 10 days.

[more]

Anwar not taking by-election lightly

Thestar.com.my

BUKIT MERTAJAM: PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim acknowledges that his opponent in the Permatang Pauh by-election Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah is a tough nut to crack.

He said he has told his election campaign team not to be complacent as they would be facing the might of the Barisan Nasional machinery.

“It is not about Arif alone,” he told a press conference after launching a giant TV screen for the by-election in front of the DAP operations centre in Taman Arowana here yesterday.

The 3.3m by 2.7m screen will be used to feature speeches by Pakatan Rakyat leaders throughout the 10-day campaign period.

“I don’t want to predict if I can win, but I want to focus on the nomination (today), the 10-day campaign period and the Aug 26 polling day.” [more]