By Boo Su-Lyn
The Malaysian Insider
May 09, 2013
PETALING JAYA, May 9 — Barisan Nasional (BN) would not have retained federal power if Election 2013 was free and fair, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang told a mass rally of tens of thousands last night.
Some 50,000, dressed mostly in black, packed Stadium MBPJ in Kelana Jaya here to the rafters at Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) rally against electoral fraud, shouting “Ubah” (Change) and “Reformasi” (Reformation) throughout the night.
“BN has 133 seats. Minus 30, they’re left with 103. Does he still qualify to continue to be prime minister?” roared Lim, referring to Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
“No!” the multi-racial crowd yelled in response, as they sounded air horns and cheered.
In Lim’s prepared speech emailed earlier to the media yesterday, he noted “serious irregularities” in about 30 federal seats, including Labis, Tapah, Segamat and Bentong that BN had won.
BN saw its simple majority slashed to 133 federal seats in the 13th general election, just 21 seats above the 112 minimum seats required to form government. The hotly-contested polls have been tainted with claims of vote-buying, phantom voters and flawed indelible ink that rubbed off easily.
The smell of sweat and exhilaration filled the air as thousands thronged the stadium to protest against vote-rigging and the legitimacy of the BN government, just three days after Sunday’s polls.
Shouts of “SPR tipu!” (Election Commission cheated) and “Tumbang BN” (BN must fall) shook the stadium amid the constant blowing of air horns. Despite the crowd, thousands more struggled to enter the stadium until those squeezed at the entrance had to shout at incoming people to back off.
The roads surrounding Kelana Jaya were snarled with traffic, with many parking their cars along the LDP highway and walking to the stadium from the Kelana Jaya LRT station under a light shower.
Lim, who was dressed in black, also pointed out last night that BN lost the popular vote — the first time since 1969 that was then contested by BN’s predecessor, the Alliance Party.
“It’s a Malaysian tsunami,” said the Gelang Patah MP, refuting Najib’s claims that BN’s losses were caused by a “Chinese tsunami”.
“With the politics of the future, racial politics and corruption will be gone,” he added, rousing cheers and applause.
Some people carried “We are not racist” placards, as several Umno politicians and newspapers owned by the BN lynchpin continue to attack the Chinese as an “ungrateful” bunch.
Najib has insisted on a Chinese swing in Election 2013, dismissing analysts that noted an exodus of middle-class and urban voters from BN, instead of just wide-scale Chinese desertion.
Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also gave a speech at the rally, pledging to lead more gatherings in the country to protest against electoral fraud, starting with Penang this Saturday.
“Black symbolises the death of democracy in Malaysia. This Saturday, everyone is encouraged to wear black for the whole day,” said Anwar.
Black profile pictures have popped up on Facebook as Malaysians take to the social networking site to express their anger against reports of vote fraud in Election 2013.
National laureate Datuk A. Samad Said and Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, who is the co-chair of polls watchdog Bersih, also attended the rally, with the former reciting a poem titled “Tipu segala tipu” (Lie of all lies).
Broadcasting executive Zaki Hushin told The Malaysian Insider that he was at the rally for his children’s future.
“I don’t want to be deceived anymore. I’m angry at BN because they won through fraud,” said the 33-year-old.
Office administrator Sandy Au Yong similarly told The Malaysian Insider that she wanted a change of government as BN has maintained its grip on power since independence.
“It’s been 55 years already. Time to change,” said Au Yong, 40.