One night in Bukit Selambau

Yesterday evening, at the last minute, I decided to join Lim and Koh to go to Bukit Selambau. Well, not quite Bukit Selambau but at Sungai Petani where all the action are. So, we left about 7.30 pm from Penang but reached SP rather late due to the traffic crawl on the bridge and thereafter.

I think it is my streak of adventure and a dose of curiosity that got me there. Unknown to my two coursemates, I did bring a *get ready to laff till fall off chair* tiny packet of salt, a towel and a bottle of water. I was hoping for some teary moments but it was all cool there.

Our first destination was an MIC event and we heard that we missed Samy Vellu who just left. We were greeted with extreme wonderful aroma of nasi briyani and curries. Oh my…I wish I wasn’t on assignment and can sit down and eat with the rest. There was a big team of some folks from the Prime Minister Department to hand out quick and easy loans to the young Indians entrepreneurs. According to sources, they are given RM500-RM3,000 loans, to be approved within 24 hours. At 4% interest and payable within 3 years. I shall reserve my comments on what I think about that. *ahem, must act professional and unbiased, ok?*

I was digging for info from the PM’s department crew of very, immaculately dressed staffs. Fuyoh, from their vans, their shirts and those nice looking embroidered logos etc etc….*ok, I am not to sway off track* BTW, I think I was the only Chinese woman there who is not a Hindu. (there is another Chinese woman with a dot on her forehead, beside me) So, I asked the EPU guy, “Loan ini, untuk orang India saja? Saya tak boleh apply kah?” They hesitated to answer me. One young Indian man said, “Orang Cina semua kaya, tak payah loan.”

And I asked further, “Boleh saya ambil borang ini untuk kawan saya di Penang?” The answer is, “Tak boleh, kalau Penang, kena cari Parlimen.” I pun tak tau what they mean but I didn’t press further. All I know is the loan is only for the Indians, and maybe for Kedah only. *anyway, I have a video on that so no comment*

Then, after that, my coursemates and I headed over to the PKR and BN centres. Their offices are just side by side, separated by a shoplot. It is very striking to note that the BN side is totally quiet but the PKR side was crowded.

What I do not like is, how the PR are muffled by rules like ‘no ceramah in open grounds’, ‘no mention of the A ghost’ and ‘no DAP fellas meddling’. But our PKR chaps are all very creative. They stood inside the shophouse with their mikes and the people who attended the ceramah sat outside to listen. And if they banned the ‘A ghost’, the PKR guys have a way to get it out of the mouths of others. ADun of Hutan Melintang Kesavan recited a pantun about her. Another one repeated that he is not supposed to say the ‘A name’ and yet he repeated that a few times that he is not supposed to mention it. It is comical, I tell you.

I managed to catch MP Yusmadi who is the MP for Balik Pulau, Penang speech. I am very impressed that he managed to draw examples from histories to illustrate why voters should choose wisely. He brought up the example of Sun Yat Sen who donated the hospital and fountain in Balik Pulau. He also explained to the pakcik-pakcik what derhaka means by referring to the example of the Sultan of Kedah’s wishes for his subjects before Merdeka. Then, he talked about Tunku Abdul Rahman and comparing him to the current situation. It is one of those few ceramah speeches that don’t just kutuk-kutuk-kutuk the other parties but takes us back in time and reflect what had become of us today.

We are not very familiar with SP area and didn’t manage to catch any independent candidates ceramah. I am curious to hear what these independent candidates have to say. With BN and PR, they only have one other party to kutuk. What about the independent candidates? Do they kutuk both BN and PR? After all, they don’t have much to claim as their victories and all they can talk is their castle in the air.

Without taking sides, if I am a voter of Bukit Selambau, I think I don’t have a hard time making a decision.