By Andrew Ong
Chaos erupted at the MBKS indoor stadium last night immediately after Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak left the rally venue as people jostled to get hold of goodie bags containing Tupperware brand containers.
As some 2,000 participants at the rally were streaming out of the stadium, hundreds crowded around part of the entrance, grabbing goodie bags that were being distributed.
The bags contained a poster of Najib and either a water tumbler or a small food container of Tupperware fame.
As the rush for goodies grew out of hand, workers were forced to relocate some of the boxes of goodies away from the entrance.
As soon as the boxes touched the floor, dozens of people, many of them elderly and children, ripped opened the boxes and carried with them whatever they could.
In the mad scramble, many people fell. At least one elderly lady was seen rolling on the floor, hanging on to her goodie bag.
The scene left many journalists and policemen gasping in disbelief.
Some who were more patient were content to wait until after the big scrum was over before collecting their share of the goodie bags or boxes of biscuits.
‘Anyone would come for freebies’
One participant told Malaysiakini that he attended the event because he had read about it in the papers.
“There is free food and gifts. Anyone would come,” said the middle-aged man, who declined to be identified.
Asked if he was here to support the premier and BN, the man said he was here to see the PM in the flesh.
An elderly woman said that she was transported by bus with other flat dwellers from Jalan Ban Hock. She said she was unable to get hold of a goodie bag due to the mad rush.
When queried why she would risk injury to obtain one of the goodie bags, a young girl in her mid-teens merely smiled and walked off.
During the event, all participants wore 1Malaysia T-shirts that were given out at the door. Hamburgers and mineral water were also distributed after the event started.
The only election candidate who spoke was Alfred Yap, the BN candidate for Kota Sentosa. He made the introductory speeches before Najib took over.
The premier also called on Pending voters to support BN candidate Dr Sim Kui Hian, but did not specifically mention the rest.
Najib was also seen listening attentively to Sim who spoke before him. Sim often acts as the spokesperson for all five SUPP candidates contesting in the Kuching area.