• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • RSS
  • Archives
  • Subscribe
The Nut Graph

The Nut Graph

Making Sense of Politics & Pop Culture

  • Projects
    • MP Watch
    • Found in Conversation
  • Current Issues
    • 6 Words
    • Commentary
    • Features
    • Found in Quotation
    • News
  • Columns
  • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Found in Malaysia
  • Multimedia
    • Audio
    • Pictures
    • Videos
  • Corrections
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Vault
    • Found in Translation

Contrasting campaign styles in KT

By Danny Lim

January 8, 2009

THE two major competing parties in the Kuala Terengganu by-election couldn’t have started their campaigns in more contrasting fashions.

Umno revved up its election machinery in the gilded expanse and expense of Taman Tamadun Islam’s convention centre on the eve of the 6 Jan 2009 nomination day. PAS, with Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and DAP, took to the beach of Tanjung Kuala Terengganu in Ladang for their first ceramah perdana.

Addressing the assembled Umno Wanita, Puteri and Pemuda wings, Datuk Seri Najib Razak set their campaign’s tenor by reminding the cogs in the Barisan Nasional (BN) election machinery to drop elitist mannerisms and stick to kampung-style courtesy and approachability. The young crowd’s spirits were high. They sang, chanted and cheered in response to the top Umno leadership lined up on stage.

After the clamorous proceedings ended, Terengganu campaign workers were called to stay back to collect their “borang”, as the emcee described it. This “borang” was RM10 per worker, for their expenses.

PAS kicked off their campaign after nomination with a star-studded ceramah in the scenic and breezy locale of the Tanjung Kuala Terengganu waterfront. Besides top PAS, PKR and DAP leaders was the conspicuous presence of the Umno defector, Datuk Zahar Hashim, who recently joined PAS.

DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang confused the crowd a little with his convoluted rhetorical questions. Wondering about the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s integrity, he asked the crowd, “Kalau begitu, pilihanraya kecil di KT akan menjadi by-election yang pertama yang terbersih sekali dalam sejarah Malaysia. Bolehkah ini berlaku di Kuala Terengganu?” The crowd yelled, “Boleh!”

PAS leaders like Terengganu PAS commissioner Datuk Mustafa Ali and party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang dealt with domestic issues, whilst PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim took a circuitous route in his argument against the BN by way of the Gaza invasion. He missed the morning of nomination day because he was on his way back from Turkey to consult regional leaders on the issue.

The most electrifying response was saved for the rare appearance of the PAS Mursyidal Am Tok Guru Datuk Haji Nik Aziz Nik Mat, who looked withered and ailing, as he waited for his climatic turn. Some in the crowd, which filled the sandy waterfront the size of a couple of football fields, were concerned enough to ask that he be allowed to speak sitting down.

But up on the stump he went, with an invigorating performance that belied his years and his feeble countenance mere moments earlier.


Danny Lim is a freelance journalist and photographer.

See also:

Getting the message across in KT

Politicising Islam in KT

KT’s odd man out

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related Stories

Filed Under: Videos Tagged With: Barisan Nasional, beach, BN, by-election, campaign, islam, Kuala Terengganu, leaders, mustafa ali, nik aziz, pas, PKR, prayer, song, speech, taman tamadun, Umno, video

Primary Sidebar

Search

Twitter

My Tweets

Recent Comments

  • Wave33 on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • Adam on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • PSTan on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • PSTan on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • Andre Lai on The Nut Graph stops publication

Recent News

  • The Nut Graph stops publication
  • Nasihat tentang sepupu yang mengganggu perasaan
  • Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: The Sunni-Shia split and the answer to Muslim unity
  • Why Malaysia needs the national unity bills
  • Challenging government in the digital age: Lessons from Kidex
  • Najib’s failure
  • Babi, anjing, pondan: Jijik orang Islam Malaysia
  • Kidex and the law – What the government’s not telling you
  • Beyond Dyana Sofya
  • Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Does Malaysia need hate speech laws?

Tags

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Anwar Ibrahim Barisan Nasional BN Bukit Selambau by-election dap Deborah Loh Ding Jo-Ann Election Commission elections Found in Malaysia Found in Quotation Gan Pei Ling government high court Hishammuddin Hussein ISA islam Jacqueline Ann Surin Khairy Jamaluddin KW Mak Lim Guan Eng Malaysia MCA Menteri Besar MP Watch Muhyiddin Yassin muslim Najib Razak Pakatan Rakyat Parliament Parti Keadilan Rakyat pas Penang Perak PKR police politics prime minister Selangor Shanon Shah Umno Wong Chin Huat Zedeck Siew

Footer

  • About The Nut Graph
  • Who Are We?
  • Our Contributors
  • Past Contributors
  • Guest Contributors
  • Editorial Policy
  • Comments & Columns
  • Copyright Policy
  • Web Accessibility Policy
  • Privacy Policy
The Nut Graph

© 2023 The Nut Graph