Making waves in PD

One opponent is an ex-MB, the other is his accuser in the sodomy trial

What was thought to be a shoo-in for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in Port Dickson has turned into a dramatic by-election with as many as six taking him on for the MP’s seat. Among them is the man who once accused him of sodomy, for which the prime minister-in-waiting spent years behind bars.

PORT DICKSON: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s way back to Parliament is a crowded field with six opponents, who include Negri Sembilan’s longest-serving Mentri Besar and a man who once accused him of sodomy.

This is the first time that polls in the Port Dickson seat will see seven candidates, including five independents. Anwar, the main draw and PKR president-elect, is contesting on a Pakatan Harapan ticket to defend the seat won by the coalition in the May 9 general election.

He was accompanied by several thousand supporters to file his nomination papers at the Port Dickson Municipal Council hall.

Also present were Anwar's wife and Deputy Prime Minister Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, several Cabinet ministers, and Mentri Besar Aminuddin Harun.

Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad, who was Negri MB for 22 years, is contesting as an independent after quitting Umno.

Anwar’s former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan – who last met him in the courtroom over sodomy charges – and PAS' Lt Kol (Rtd) Mohd Nazari Mokhtar, who is the party’s Tenggara division chief in Johor, also filed their papers to contest as independents.

The other three independents are Stevie Chan Keng Leong, Lau Seck Yan and Kan Chee Yuen.

An eighth candidate, A. Rajendra, had his nomination rejected as his proposer was not a registered voter in the constituency.

Although Returning Officer Khairy Maamor gave him an additional 30 minutes to get a proposer, he was unable to do so.

Lau was the first to file her papers after nominations opened for an hour at 9am.

She came in at 9.02am, followed by Mohd Isa, Nazari, Chan, Kan, Anwar and Saiful.

Rajendra was the last to come in at 9.59am. Anwar and Mohd Nazari will contest under their respective party symbols while the independents were allowed to pick their own logos provided by the commission.

Isa will use the chair logo, Saiful (key), Lau (rabbit), Chan (spectacles) and Kan (pen).

The by-election was triggered after Datuk Danyal Balagopal Abdullah decided to vacate his seat to make way for PKR president-elect Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s return to Parliament.

EC chairman Azhar Harun said the body was expecting a 70% turnout for the by-election based on the personalities involved, and campaigns carried out to get more people to exercise their constitutional right.

“We are really hoping the people will come out to vote, and they should not wait till the end although the period has been extended by 30 minutes to 5.30pm,” he said, adding that the result should be out by 10pm. He said the EC had increased the number of polling channels from 145 to 171.

“We will have three polling booths instead of two at every centre,” Azhar said.

He said the EC had also allowed 72 observers from the Electoral Reform Committee, government agencies and NGOs such as Institute Darul Ehsan, Bersih 2.0 and Engage to monitor the by-election.

Azhar advised all candidates to obtain permits from the police for every ceramah they planned.

PORT DICKSON: If the folk here are used to the heavy traffic during weekends and holidays, they had better be prepared for what will be in store for the next two weeks.

A preview of that was evident yesterday with most roads filled with traffic as nominations for the Port Dickson byelection got underway.

Most of those who turned up came to support their candidates while there were also others who just wanted to take a look at Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the other contenders.

Engineer M. Valliraman, 55, said the nomination exercise caused a gridlock in town, and as it was a weekend, there were several other programmes going on at the same time.

“The entire PD Waterfront area was packed and traffic came to a standstill on an early Saturday morning,” he said.

Valliraman said he hoped for a silver lining for the resort town.

“It will be good if the MP here becomes the prime minister as a lot more can be done for Port Dickson,” he said.

P. Surinder Singh, 62, said he had never seen such a huge number of people converging here.

“I have also never seen a contest involving so many people for the Port Dickson seat because it has always been either two or three candidates only,” said Surinder.

Thousands began congregating at a field by the sea and outside the Land and District office at Batu 1 Jalan Pantai as early as 7am.

Pakatan Harapan supporters brought lion and dragon dance troupes as well as a traditional Indian music group for entertainment.

The crowd cheered each time they saw a lowflying aircraft on its way to land at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and KLIA2.

Stalls selling vuvuzelas and food were also put up to add to the carnival air.

Surinder said on other days, traffic would only start building up around noon at “manageable levels”.

The opening of a new stretch to Teluk Kemang and Pasir Panjang had somewhat eased congestion, he said.

“People come to PD because we can still get cheap accommodation here and we have beautiful beaches and other tourism destinations such as Tanjung Tuan, Sungai Menyala forest reserve and historical Pengkalan Kempas,” he said.

Apart from its popular beaches, Port Dickson is also known as the country’s army town as several camps are located here.

Over the years, reputable hotels have expanded here and are heavily booked during the holidays.

Selfemployed Max Tan, 48, said he was happy Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was contesting in Port Dickson.

“Despite being located close to Kuala Lumpur, Port Dickson has been neglected for too long.

“If we do more for tourism in PD, people would not have to go to Thailand or Indonesia,” he said, adding that there was talk of Hard Rock Hotel opening here but this was cancelled for unknown reasons.

Nasi lemak seller Halijah Aman, 58, was happy with Port Dickson being in the limelight.

“If Anwar wins, I want him to have the railway line from here to Seremban.

“I remember taking the train when I was younger but this service has stopped for years,” she said, adding that tourism should also be promoted on weekdays.