BUKIT MERTAJAM, 25 Apr: The atmosphere was calm and controlled during the nomination process for the Permatang Pauh Parliamentary by-election.
The cloudy weather, due to heavy rain last night, accompanied the nomination process.
Each candidate paraded with their respective top leaders and with banners and flags staring from the designated area.
The PKR Candidate, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, looked cheerful and she was accompanied from the top leaders of the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition.
An estimate of 1,000 Pakatan Rakyat supporters gathered and marched, accompanying Wan Azizah to the nomination location.
Supporters were carrying Pakatan Rakyat flags, banners that said ‘Cancel GST’, ‘Reject GST Vote Keadilan’, ‘Do Not Tax Our Children’ while chanting ‘Reformasi’ (Reform) and ‘Lawan tetap Lawan'(Keep Fighting).
Wan Azizah was accompanied by the supreme leader of Pakatan Rakyat, PKR Deputy President Mohamed Azmin Ali, PAS Deputy President Mohamad Sabu and Penang Chief Minister and DAP Advisor, Lim Kit Siang.
They gathered at 7.30 am at Simpang Mengkuang Titi.
Also present were PKR Vice Presidents, Nurul Izzah Anwar, Tian Chua and Xavier Jayakumar, together with 1,000 supporters.
While waiting for the candidate application to be submitted, Mohamed Azmin managed to meet face-to-face and take a picture with the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
He also met face-to-face with the top leaders of Barisan Nasional (BN), comprising of the Home Affairs Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi, and the Minister of Youth and Sports, Khairy Jamaluddin.
The PKR top leadership left the compound of the nomination centre at 10.40 after the announcement of candidates was completed.
Meanwhile, Barisan Nasional (BN) and PKR flags were seen on both sides of the roads met along the three kilometres heading towards IKBN.
The traffic condition was congested along the four kilometres from IKBN heading towards the Bukit Mertajam City Centre.
The Penang Police informed that 300 officers were on duty throughout the candidate nomination process.
NS
