Najib holds Sibu folk spellbound

BATTLE CRY: Najib raises the hands of Lau (second left) and Tiong (third right) and joined by Talif (left), Wong (second right) and Dr Annuar (right).

SIBU: The usually quiet open space near Paramount Hotel here was transformed into a sea of blue as supporters waved BN flags enthusiastically and held high ‘I Love PM’ placards when Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak came a calling on Saturday.

1MALAYSIA IN ACTION: Najib cracking a joke which had the mammoth crowd in stitches.

Many had converged on the area as early as 6pm even though they knew that the prime minister would be there only at about 8pm.

By 7pm, the crowd had grown to a mammoth size, and when Najib arrived at 8.11pm, they presented him loud ‘1Malaysia’ cheers.

Security was tight with policemen and Rela personnel busy maintaining law and order as the excited crowd jostled for space to catch a glimpse of Najib and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

BN Sibu candidate Vincent Lau and Lanang candidate Datuk Tiong Thai King started the ball rolling by delivering hard-hitting speeches that kept the crowd on their feet.

When Najib took over the microphone, he said he was told that the crowd at PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s ceramah (political talk) was nothing compared to theirs.