DAY 12 What's happening during the election campaigns around the country today? Quotable quotes, planned events and unplanned incidents as they take place.
[PHOTO GALLERY]

12.30am - Gelang Patah: As the mega Pakatan Rakyat ceramah ends, the emcee announces that the total collection for the day stood at RM263,328.80.

NONEThis comes from RM173,328.80 collected from the ceramah alone and RM90,000 collected from the series of events held during the day.

The amoung is the highest money collection recorded since the election campaign kicked off on April 20th.

11.45pm - Johor Bahru: PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim reiterates that this general election is a choice between old politics that practices racial discrimination and new politics that provides fair treatment to all.

He promises that if Pakatan Rakyat rules Putrajaya, it would give full assistance to all schools from different streams as long as they strengthen the national language.

He also assures the Malay-majority crowd that there is no reason to fear DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang.

"Some civil servants told me they are worried because Chinese now are more active in politics.

"Why are you afraid? Because he is smart? Because he is brave? Because he is persistent? Or because he is hard working?

"Why you don't elect such person but Malay leaders who are stupid?" he asks, adding that the nation needs capable leaders of all races to lead the government.
dap johor gelang patah sutera mall ceramah 60k people 020513 anwar11pm - Gelang Patah: The crowd that has thronged the Pakatan Rakyat ceramah in Skudai has ballooned to 70,000.

Speaking to the crowd, Pakatan supremo Anwar Ibrahim urges all voters to support opposition candidates, in particular DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang, to prove former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad wrong.

"I make no apologise. With respect to all Malaysians, his name maybe Lim Kit Siang, but he is man of principle. I salute him.

"Mahathir said let’s bury him in Gelang Patah and bury Anwar in Permatang Pauh.

"But Mahathir, I'm not Najib (Abdul Razak) that has no courage to rebut you."

10.30pm - Johor Bahru: Some 10,000 people attend a Pakatan Rakyat ceramah held at a market site beside Tan Sri Dato Haji Hassan Yunos stadium, in which PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng are slated to speak.

NONEDespite the ceramah site being dark and stuffy, with rough tarred floor, the crowd has no qualms and sit on the floor as they follow the speeches.

The order is, however, temporarily halted as a woman screams when a mouse ran across from where she sits.

10.30pm - Sibu: The DAP ceramah held near Sibu bus terminal attracts up to 5,000 people.

During the ceramah, party deputy chairperson Tan Seng Giaw campaigned for Lanang candidate Alice Lau and Sibu candidate Oscar Ling.

Tan said BN was scared of losing power as it knew nothing about the role of the opposition, and joked that Pakatan will offer the former a free course so they can take up the lesson.

Tan also told the crowd that Pakatan plans to build more prisons to accommodate BN members convicted of cheating and corruption, soliciting big applauds from the crowd.

Meanwhile, the Sarawak United People's Party ceremah attracted a much more humble crowd of 700.
dap johor gelang patah sutera mall ceramah 60k people 020513 crowd 210.30pm - Gelang Patah: 60,000 turn up for the Pakatan Rakyat mega ceramah at the open air carpark of Sutera Mall in Skudai to listen to the speeches by Pakatan leaders.

The cars parked along the main road stretches away for at least 3km and many more with many more people still arriving.

The crowd, comprising majority Chinese, chant "Ubah, ini kalilah" (Change, this time) and "Wu Yue Wu, Huan Zheng Fu. Wu Yue Liu, Xin Zheng Fu" (May 5th, change government. May 6th, new government).

PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang, PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub and Kulai candidate Teo Nie Ching are the heavyweight speakers tonight.

10.20pm - Damansara Utama: Some 250 Suaram comics books, titled ‘Hikayat Pak Monggol’ and ‘Scorpene’, sold at a opposition ceramah in Damansara Perdana are swept up by an enthusiastic crowds in just 5 minutes.

The comics refer to the relationship between murdered Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibu, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and wife Rosmah Mansor.

The just five-minutes, the crowd filled the donation box, and the money will be used to bear Suaram’s legal expenses in the Scorpene case.

Some 2,000 people, mostly middle-class Chinese and Indians attend the ceramah, with the crowd even spilling over the ceramah venue.
Among the speakers are PKR Subang parliamentary candidate R Sivarasa and PKR Seri Setia state candidate Nik Nazmi.

PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar is scheduled to give a talk later at the Damansara Perdana venue, which is in the vicinity the of Subang parliament and Bukit Lanjan state seat constituencies.
However, Nurul Izzah did not come in the end.
9.47pm - Luyang: The DAP and SAPP are holding ceramah at opposite sides in Foh Sang, which is usually identified as a SAPP stronghold.

Both sides have, however, managed to gather 1,000 people to their rallies indicating a possible narrow win for either side on Sunday.

Things are heating up between SAPP and DAP with the latter accusing the former of being a BN agent to split votes.

SAPP's Melanie Chia, who lodged a police report against DAP's allegations, is defending the seat against Sabah DAP advisor Hiew King Cheu, MCA's Agnes Shim and Star's Jafery Jomion.
9.30pm - Ipoh Barat: Bersih co-chairperson Ambiga Shreenevasan takes to the stage of a DAP ceramah and addresses the 3,000-strong crowd, comprising mostly Chinese and Indians.

She urges all the Malaysians to support Bersih’s Jom 100 campaign to push for 100 percent voter turnout rate on May 5 as one vote is no ordinary vote but can rid the nation of corruption, abuse of power and racism.

"The voter turnout rate last round (in 2008) was 75 percent. I perdict this is going to be the highest voter turnout in the history of the country.

"We will vote peacefully because we are peaceful people. So on May 5, please go early, go peacefully, do not fear, because you are not alone." she adds, drawing the loud cheer from the crowd.

Meanwhile, 300 metres away, BN’s Buntong candidate C Sivaraj is holding an Indian performance and so far approximately 200 people have turned up to attend.

9.30pm - Titiwangsa: Some 4,000 people gather at Kelab Sultan Sulaiman to hold a special prayer for a Pakatan Rakyat victory.

They pray on an open field against the backdrop of the Kuala Lumpur City Centre.

Among those speaking at the gathering include PAS vice-president and Putrajaya candidate Husam Musa.
8.50pm - Gelang Patah: The DAP mega ceramah in Sutera Mall causes a massive traffic jam in Skudai town.

Yesterday, the DAP also held a mega ceramah at the same venue, which saw a 50,000-strong crowd attending and collected more than RM190,000 worth of donations from the public.

NONE8.30pm - Gelang Patah: An Indian concert organised by BN-friendly NGO Persatuan Sivik India Malaysia, attracts about 500 people in Tun Aminah Mini Stadium eager to listen to the Bollywood-style music.

Before officially kicking off the concert, the organiser holds a lucky draw and awards some hampers and a 32-inch LCD television.

Johor BN chief and candidate for Gelang Patah Abdul Ghani Othman is slated to speak in the event later.

6.50pm - Muar: DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng makes a brief visit to Muar town where he manages to attract a crowd of close to 15,000 people.

Lim is helping DAP's Bakri candidate Er Teck Hwa and Bentayan candidate Chua Wee Beng to campaign, with four days left to the general election.

"Many of them came but we still need to work hard, only then do we have hope of winning We need to do more," said Er.
6.00pm - Gelang Patah: Among the BN and Pakatan flags that have flooded the constituency, small yellow flags are spotted today near the Sutera Mall open car park where Pakatan used to hold its mammoth rallies.

NONEApparently, the yellow flags represent P Waythamoorthy’s faction of Hindraf, the group which has been reported as supporting the BN coalition after caretaker Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak accepted its blueprint for the Indian community.

The movement is slated to hold a ceramah in the constituency tomorrow night and featuring its chief P Waythamoorthy.

It is not surprising for Hindraf to campaign for BN here as Indian voters make up 12 percent of the total voters in Gelang Patah, one of the key seats in this general election which is being contested by Lim Kit Siang from DAP and Abdul Ghani Othman from BN. 

Today, the constituency also sees new BN banners featuring Najib. The big banners in both the Chinese and Malay languages read, "Support me, vote for BN".

2.30pm - Putrajaya:
PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim speaks to a 3,000-strong crowd at Precinct 3 in Putrajaya, as he attempts to shore up even more support from the civil service for Pakatan Rakyat and its Putrajaya candidate, PAS' Husam Musa.

NONEAnwar promised to restore the professionalism of the civil service, and said that the current caretaker government's move to bring in foreign consultants are undermining the skills of the local civil service in the country.

His fiery 30-minute speech is received enthusiastically by the mixed crowd, who braved the afternoon heat to sit and stand around the parking lot where the ceramah is taking place.

His appearance there comes shortly after former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad came down to Putrajaya to urge the civil service to continue backing the current caretaker government.

Putrajaya, normally a BN fortress, has turned into a proper electoral battleground as Husam's relatively strong machinery looks set to give incumbent Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor of BN a run for his money.

1.05pm - Segamat:
The Jementah town comes to a sudden standstill as more than 500 locals flood the street where DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng is speaking, despite the hot afternoon weather.

NONETaking a leaf from caretaker Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's stunt in Penang, he asks: "Are you ready for BN?" to which the mostly Chinese crowd replied, "No!".

Lim (left in photo) also urges the people to back DAP's Jementah candidate Lee Chen Choon.

The crowd later swarms the stage as they stretch out various items for Lim's autograph. Traffic is slow as the crowd has spilled on to the main road.

12.21pm - Kota Belud:
More than 2,000 people are here to celebrate the annual harvest festival Keamatan at the town field.

Kota Belud is host to state level celebrations this year, and officiating the event is caretaker state Chief Minister Musa Aman.

NONEHe tells the audience that the Keamatan festival is proof of the harmony and tolerance among the various races and religions in Sabah under the BN government.

He also reminded all that Usukan - which is located within the parliamentary constituency of Kota Belud - is the birthplace of Sabah Umno, and is its stronghold.

The Unduk Ngadau competition, an annual beauty contest of sorts held in conjunction with Keamatan, is stopped for a short while to respect the azan.

Kota Belud is contested by incumbent Abdul Rahman Dahlan for BN. He is going against PKR greenhorn Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis and three others.

11.45am - Segamat:
BN's Segamat candidate S Subramaniam says he is facing a tough fight and needs to serve an antidote to those whose minds were "poisoned within a short period of time" by PKR rival Chua Jui Meng.

"We believe our base is okay and we are now focusing on fence-sitters and those who have been ‘poisoned’, especially among young voters.

NONE"It is tough because - one, is the political climate of change, two, is my opponent and three, they are making a concerted effort to give me a tough fight and we have had to work twice as hard," he adds.

Subramaniam (left), who is also the caretaker human resources minister, is also continuing his pre-emptive strike against the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) for wanting to picket against him in his constituency later today, just four days to the general election.

"There are certain parties which want to solve issues through blackmail, we cannot allow this culture to thrive," he says during a Labour Day celebration in Segamat this morning.

Asked later if the "blackmail" he mentioned is a reference NUBE, he replies, "Not specifically to them, but what they are doing is similar to that".

11.30am - Sungai Siput:
About 40 residents from Cameron Highland - most of them vegetable garden owners - visit the service centre of SK Devamany to show support to the latter by holding up banners and passing out strawberries.

NONEDevamany had been the Cameron Highland MP for two terms, before he was assigned to contest in Sungai Siput this time round.

Speaking to the press, KC Looi, the Ringlet new village chief, says that they here to tell the Sungai Siput voters to support Devamany as he is a friendly parliamentarian, as well as a “nice deputy minister of the Prime Minister's Department”.

"If his service is poor, we wouldn’t be here," he adds.

10.30am - Sungai Suput:
As May Day this year falls in the general election campaign period, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) is unable to hold a big celebration as they are going all-in into the campaign.

Instead, Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj (right in photo) - who contests under the PKR ticket in the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat - is holding a small celebration in front of his service centre.

NONEAddressing his short speech to 20 people, most of whom are his campaign workers and party members, the incumbent Sungai Siput MP criticises the BN government's policy which is said to be pro-corporate and investors, consequently making the workers suffer instead.

"If they (the corporations and investors) are happy, and the workers' wages are lowered, the union will be weaker. Less corporate taxes will be levied to the corporates, but taxes for the people increase," he says.

He urges the people to abandon the corrupted BN government and support Pakatan Rakyat to fight for the rights of the workers.

However, he adds that there is still a long way to go for the workers to be more organised to make sure that Pakatan policy will not be aligned with that of the rich corporates.

There is a three-corner fight in Sungai Siput, where Jeyakumar is facing the challenge from MIC vice-president SK Devamany and Independent SP Nagalingam.

10.00am - Lembah Pantai:
Signages warning off "phantom" and other fraudulent voters are spotted in Bangsar today.

NONEOne banner, seen in Jalan Kemuja, warns those intending to vote with fake MyKads that their safety "is not guaranteed" if caught.

"If you are caught trying to vote using a fake IC, you will be handed over to the police.

"While waiting for police arrival, your safety is not guaranteed," states the banner by Kami Anak Bangsa Malaysia, written in English, Indonesian and another foreign language.

Meanwhile an anti-phantom voter signboard, replicating the famous Ghost Busters symbol is affixed in front of the Jalan Bangsar Tamil school, just opposite of the Malaysiakini office.

9.17am - Kota Kinabalu: Semporna police have confirmed that BN members had attacked PAS supporters with baseball bats, crash helmets and iron rods last Sunday.

Supt Mohd Azhar Hamin, the police spokesperson for the election campaign perio, was quoted in The Borneo Post as saying that it happened after "provocation following a speech by PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim".

He reportedly confirmed that BN members had threatened to burn down the PAS office. The police have recorded the statements of 30 witness.

melanie chia sapp sabah wanita 180509Semporna district police chief Mohd Firdaus Francis Abdullah had told Malaysiakini on Monday that the incident stemmed from both sides arguing over where to hang flags and posters.

Meanwhile, SAPP has lodged a police report against DAP for allegedly spreading false information that it received RM80 million from BN to split the Pakatan Rakyat vote.

Luyang candidate Melanie Chia (right), who has condemned the "culture of hatred", has claimed that DAP flew in people from the peninsula to spread rumours.

8.00am - Gelang Patah: Thirteen university student groups - including Solidarity Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM) and Islamic Students Federation (Gamis) - have come to this parliamentary constituency to support DAP's candidate Lim Kit Siang.

Holding a press conference with Lim, GE13 Students Movement (GM13) chief Syis Abdul Kadir says the 13 student groups are campaigning for Pakatan Rakyat to reject gutter politics, and that they came to Gelang Patah as this is one of the key seats in this general election.

Mohd Safwan Anang from Universiti Malaya (UM) says he is disappointed that UM authorities have screened the controversial ‘Tanda Putera’ film to UM students.

NONE“We feel that the university should explain the screening of ‘Tanda Putera’ to the students, especially the Malay students. Are they trying to raise racial issues? We as students are very disappointed and we reject the culture of slander,” he adds.

There are also some 400 cyclists who are participating in a 46km cycling convoy to show their solidarity to Lim. The convoy is flagged off by Lim at the outdoor car park of Sutera Mall.