Home TA Online 2013 TA Online The circus came to town

The circus came to town

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We’ve seen them. Those buffets and lucky draws. But a menagerie? Pro-change reports on an exhibition of exotic animals that accompanied a 1Malaysia lucky draw.

An exhibition of exotic animals
An exhibition of exotic animals

The circus finally landed in my housing area last weekend. No beer or dancing girls, but an exhibition of exotic animals!

The flyer above was distributed in my neighbourhood. It is a very devious invitation as there is no mention of BN or any of the component parties. But just driving past the Rukun Tetangga pondok, I noticed it plastered with BN and 1Malaysia flags with all the faces of the BN candidates. And the all too familiar modus operandi of free food, lucky draws and mystery gifts confirmed my thoughts.

Decided to grit my teeth and turn up for the event for a short while. To win, I believe we must know what our opponent’s strategy is. There were a few so called exotic animals, but really, the BN folks on stage could have made up for the lack of animals at the exhibition.

Watching the caged furry live toys is such a joy
Watching the caged furry live toys is such a joy … Not
The parrot in all its glory
The parrot in all its glory

I could only tolerate 15 minutes of being there. After listening to an Umno guy raving and ranting about how only the MIC was qualified to uphold and protect the rights of the Indians, and same with Umno for the Malays and the MCA for the Chinese, I took my leave. What archaic policies they still believe in and talk about!

The crowd looking somewhat sedated
The crowd looking somewhat sedated

A rough count of attendees was about 100 people, including children. Interestingly, for a gathering at Minden Heights, clearly missing from the crowd were the middle- and upper-middle-class residents. The majority of the crowd did not seem overly thrilled with the speeches delivered.

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Well, the lure of the lucky draws (photo below shows the stacks of electronic goods for the lucky draw) may have worked in drawing the crowd to stay till the end.

Promoting their archaic policies
Promoting their archaic policies

So much money is being thrown into such events. The people of Penang would like to know where these funds are coming from and who is sponsoring this lavish spending. The BN have no right to dominate the use of community halls for their political campaigns. This is an abuse of power, like in the entire administration of the country.

It’s time for a total change and to stop further rot. Vote for change!

Pro-change is the pseudonym of a Penang-based Aliran reader.

The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.

AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
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Merlyn Low
3 May 2013 11.44pm

Was told in an email that those who gave IC for Han Chiang concert and Michelle Yeoh PKFZ dinner, free gifts, dinners, lucky draws… etc found out that the names were missing from the Electoral Roll and perhaps not eligible to Vote!

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