Anwar sizzles up B Pinang, but is it enough?

Malaysia Today

DICKSON - If anyone is thinking of writing off Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, they had better think twice, especially if they’re from Umno.

Despite an enviable lead in the Bagan Pinang by-election campaign, Umno could not stop its former deputy president from pulling in the crowds and causing a massive traffic gridlock unseen for years in the quite seaside town. The Anwar pull, his famed charisma, may not be enough to change the outcome on Sunday, when the constituency’s 13,664 voters cast their ballots, but it can certainly chip away at the huge majority that Umno is counting on to reverse its fortunes.

" The poor Malays are robbed in broad daylight, government contracts are awarded to crony companies, we see poor Malays, Chinese, Indian everywhere throughout all BN governed states, and they call me a traitor? Who is the traitor? Anwar asked the crowd in his first campaign rally there since returning from overseas.

Still uphill

Not too long ago, Anwar was Umno’s own favourite son, poised to inherit the mantle of power from former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

But he stepped on too many toes with his calls for reforms and a clean-up of the Malaysian corporate sector. He was sacked and jailed on corruption and sodomy charges in 1999 and released only in 2004.

Anwar has denied the charges and claims they were trumped up by Mahathir to kill his political career. Now the de-facto head of the Pakatan Rakyat, Anwar is in town to help PAS push its candidate Zulkefly Omar.

But it is an uphill battle. For Zulkefly is pitted against local giant Isa Abdul Samad. Isa may be diminutive in physical size but his stature in the town is legenday.

Bagan Pinang is part of the wider Teluk Kemang constituency, of which Isa is Umno chief, and few who live there do not know him.

Even Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who is the current Umno president, had to close an eye to the storm of criticism following Isa’s corruption and vote-buying record, and confirm him as the party’s flag carrier in Bagan Pinang.

A dubious character like him is not qualified to represent the people," said Zulkefly..

Who's corrupt 

Perhaps to pre-empt the negative campaigning that is bound to shroud the scandal-hit Isa, Umno leaders such as Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin have urged the government to re-open investigations into allegations that Anwar had salted away RM3 billion in overseas accounts.

He is just making untruthful allegations. If he wants to, he can ask the authorities to investigate me,” said the silver-tongued Anwar.

But I urge that it should not only incorporate me but also himself, Abdullah and other past and present Umno leaders to also show whether they are clean.

The authorities should form an independent commission to investigate all these allegations, not only against me but also against Khairy and others to show how many millions of ringgit they have amassed.”  -  Malaysian Mirror