PKR should follow the example of Nizar

NIZAR (THE GENUINE MENTERI BESAR OF PERAK) INVITES HIMSELF TO AN UMNO CERAMAH WHILST THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT HIM! -- MUST READ!!!! - MJ

An Umno ceramah in Kampar, Perak last night witnessed an unusual twist when the main target of the bashing session - Nizar Jamaluddin - appeared and sat with several Umno leaders.

It must have been quite a sight for the audience to see the former Perak menteri besar smiling as he sat in front of a banner that said ‘Nizar pembohong bersiri’ (Nizar is a serial liar).

Meanwhile, PAS supporters just 200 metres away in Tualang Sekah must have been wondering why a scheduled star speaker had not shown up for their own PAS event.

Apparently, Umno had been dogging opposition ceramahs in the state for a few months, and Nizar (second from right) was on the way to the PAS gathering that night when he passed by the Umno one, according to the Bukit Gantang MP.

Seeing the banner with his name boldly emblazoned on it, his curiosity was piqued and he wondered what “lies” he had told.

For Nizar, attending the event unplanned was a matter of self-reflection and opening oneself to examination.

“I wanted to know whether I had missed anything (in examining myself)…I thought I might as well attend before my turn to speak (at the PAS ceramah),” he said in a phone call with Malaysiakini.

And when he walked right into the event, alone, the first thing he heard was former PKR member Hanafiah Man condemning him at the top of his voice.

“I saw an empty chair (at the front panel) - which was Hanafiah’s - and I took a seat there,” he said, amused.

When Hanafiah turned around and saw Nizar in his seat, he hastily pivoted from criticising Nizar to talking about Bersih co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan and PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim.

The crowd of about 100 or so, according to Nizar, were similarly astonished at his presence while he was “just sitting there and smiling”.

“I think they were pucat (pale),” he laughed.

Some of the people there asked him to leave, but he insisted that there was all the more reason for his attendance, given the event seemed to concern him directly.

“I would like to hear, I told them. They asked me whether I would like it if they went for my ceramahs, but I said I would welcome others,” he said.

In addition, the crowd took the opportunity to boo Nizar at every mention of his colleagues in Pakatan Rakyat.

Still, Nizar seemed to enjoy himself, describing the mood at the event as “completely different” after he arrived, with the next speakers up for the podium looking pale as well.

Eventually, Nizar decided to leave after half an hour of the event, but not before shaking Hanafiah’s hand.

“He was completely abashed, his face was completely different,” he cracked.

‘Good for democratic process’

He then went on the PAS ceramah to explain himself, and the crowd was unsurprisingly astonished at the PAS leader’s spontaneous detour.

But the response appears to have been good so far for Nizar, with one person sending him an SMS congratulating him and saying it was a “new era” in politics.

“My phone was also ringing non-stop from 2am onwards,” he added, laughing.

When asked if he might make a hobby of it, he was upbeat on how it would affect politics, but remained non-committal.

“Maybe this would be a good move, for a brighter democratic process,” he said, explaining that it would keep a lid on what politicians would say at ceramahs.

On a more serious note, though, the Pasir Panjang assemblyperson hopes that he managed to make a point by crashing the Umno event.

“I hope they think that, if he (Nizar) is a serial liar, why do they stop talking when he is there,” he opined.

He lamented the “very dangerous” messages that Umno was sending to the Malay kampung folk of the region.

Among other things, they ran down PAS’ dealings with Ambiga, describing the Islamic party as following a Hindu woman who was “pro-LGBT and anti-syariah”, according to Nizar.

On dealing with the hostile environment, Nizar chuckled and said: “It takes a lot of patience.”


‘Nizar should have have minded his own PAS event’

Umno Lenggong division chief Saarani Mohamad also responded, criticising Nizar for “trespassing” into another party’s event and saying he should have minded his own PAS event instead.

In an SMS to Malaysiakini, he denied that the speakers at the ceramah had made a sudden switch in their speeches, saying that they had “followed the original script”.

“Nizar was not focussing on the ceramah, he was instead chatting with the people beside him.”

In keeping with the previous night’s theme, he had only one thing to say about Nizar: “He’s lying.”