Permatang Pauh by-election, 2008

“A man who can win a by-election and become the leader of the strongest Federal opposition this country has seen in 51 years, just four years after being released from jail cannot be written off.” The Malaysian Insider

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia made the announcement on 10am Wednesday, August 27th 2008 that newly-elected Permatang Pauh MP Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be taking his oath in Dewan Rakyat on Thursday. VIA

Video Clip :Malaysia's Anwar celebrates election win -Source CNA


Malaysia's Anwar heads for parliament after a handsome by-election win.Source:CNA


An elated Anwar, who was accompanied by top leaders from the opposition alliance Pakatan Rakyat, also said the election results should serve as a major lesson for BN to stop making personal attacks against him. Source: Malaysiakini

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has won the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat with a majority of 15,671 votes.26 August 2008 "This is the people's victory," Anwar said in a victory speech. Election Commission figures said Anwar won 31,195 votes against 15,524 for the candidate from the Barisan Nasional coalition, and 92 for a third candidate from a small Islamic party. Anwar last won the Permatang Pauh seat in 1995 with a majority of 23,515 votes. There were some 58,459 eligible voters in the constituency of Permatang Pauh in Anwar's home state of Penang. VIA

Polling starts, Anwar tips victory in critical by-election

Parliamentary seat P.44 Permatang Pauh lies in the federal state of Penang, Malaysia. In the 2008 election, Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (a component party of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition), garnered 30,338 votes, defeating Firdaus Ismail of the United Malay National Organization (UMNO) (a component party of the Barisan Nasional coalition) (16,950 votes).


Permatang Pauh By-Election - Nomination Aug 16, Poll Aug 26

Anwar is escorted by overwhelming numbers
Anwar is 'chaperoned' to the nomination centre by thousands of supporters. Some estimate the numbers to be up to 60,000 people ...Source:malaysiakini
18thAug2008

Most political analysts expect Mr. Anwar to comfortably win in the predominantly Muslim Permatang Pauh constituency where he grew up and where his wife previously held the parliamentary seat that is being contested.Once a firebrand Islamic student leader, Mr. Anwar has since nurtured a reputation as a thoughtful moderate, committed to democratic principles and free-market economics. Every night, thousands of supporters turn out here among the rice fields and industrial parks of northern Malaysia as Mr. Anwar campaigns for a parliamentary seat in a by-election Tuesday. At rally after rally, Mr. Anwar stirs the crowds with vows to topple the National Front government and pursue an agenda of political and economic overhauls.The charismatic Mr. Anwar is widely viewed as the only Malaysian politician who can unite a broad alliance of opposition parties and attract voters who are increasingly alienated from the National Front. In March, the coalition he heads won almost half the total popular vote and came within 30 seats of toppling the government in national elections.That prospect has rattled the National Front, which has ruled Malaysia for almost 51 years, but has seen its popularity wane in recent months amid internal bickering and a slowing economy in this resource-rich Southeast Asian country of 27 million. Mr. Anwar pending prosecution makes it possible that he, who is free on bail while awaiting trial, could win next week's election only to lose his seat if he is later convicted of sodomy. National Front government-backed opponent, Arif Shah Omar Shah, attracts much smaller audiences at his rallies and spends much of his time in meetings with his entourage of campaign workers. Mr. Anwar leads a diverse and sometimes fragile opposition alliance that cuts across Malaysia's fractious multiethnic society of Malays, Chinese and Indians. It includes the left-leaning, mostly ethnic-Chinese Democratic Action Party and the Malay-centered fundamentalist Parti Islam, known as PAS, as well as Mr. Anwar's own secularist People's Justice Party. That is a potentially unstable mix in Malaysia, where about 60% of the population consists of Malay Muslims, who are often wary of the country's large non-Muslim minorities.Some PAS members worry that a potential Anwar-led government will be too secular and give too big a voice to non-Malays. Malaysia's highest court overturned Mr. Anwar's sodomy conviction in 2004. Dr. Mahathir has denied there was a political conspiracy. VIA

Dewan Rakyat: Permatang Pauh by-election, 2008

Party AKIM --------- Candidate Hanafi Hamat


Party Pakatan Rakyat -PKR------- Candidate Anwar Ibrahim

Party BN - UMNO --------- Candidate Arif Shah Omar Shah

Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah speaks Mandarin and Hokkein fluently, a key factor, which Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak must have taken into consideration in the bid to win over the crucial Chinese votes. Arif Shah received his primary and secondary school education in Chinese schools before going to the US to study civil engineering. He also acts as an advisor for Tamil clubs in his constituency, another plus point for him. Arif is known for his constituency work in Seberang Jaya - the state constituency in Permatang Pauh said to have delivered the largest chunk of BN votes. Still, Arif Shah would go into the contest as an underdog. His job is to reduce the opposition majority. His entry into the by-election is already unprecedented in Umno as the party never fields the same person for state and parliamentary constituencies but this is an unprecedented event. Both sides are playing the "underdog" tag in a move to stop any form of complacency in the polls.

Three-Corner Fight In Permatang Pauh By-Election






Electoral campaigns heat up in Malaysia 22ndAug2008

Police step up security at Malaysia's by-elections 22ndAug2008


RECAP:Anwar released on bail On July 17, 2008
Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim speaks to CNN after he was released on bail.Source: CNN



Anwar video photo clip recaptured through the years


On July 27, 2008 Anwar said that he aims to return to parliament for the first time in a decade later this year if a court orders a by-election near his home town. The seat mentioned would probably be Kulim-Bandar Baharu constituency next to his hometown of Permatang Pauh in Penang. Anwar Ibrahim on July 31, 2008 said he would contest a by-election for the parliamentary seat of Permatang Pauh vacated by his wife in order to expedite his return to political office. His wife Wan Azizah said she handed her letter of resignation to the parliament speaker on Thursday 31 July. Party officials said the by-election must be held within 60 days. The Election Commission (EC) has fixed the nomination day for the Permatang Pauh by-election on Aug 16, with polling to be held ten days later on Aug 26. Some 58,459 voters in the Permatang Pauh constituency would be eligible to vote on Aug 26, a working Tuesday, adding that the figure also include 490 postal voters.

Anwar Ibrahim was charged on August 7, 2008 for sodomy under Section 377B of the Penal Code, fueling speculations over a possible conspiracy on the part of the Malaysian government to derail his election campaign.


Barisan Nasional candidate Arif Shah Omar Shah today(: August 20, 2008) refuted suggestions that his campaign machinery was a disaster and expressed quiet confidence of slim win. VIA Malaysiakini

23rd Aug 2008-PKR candidate for Permatang Pauh, Anwar Ibrahim meets the Seberang Jaya Chinese community to re-assure them that he is a leader for all Malaysians. .He asks for their support on August 26 for him to affect change in the country. VIA Malaysiakini




Arif Shah... From 22nd to top in a day
Run-Up to Permatang Pauh By-Election: Hanafi to use BN-PKR rift to his advantage

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