IN his first public appearance after being pardoned and released yesterday, Anwar Ibrahim “brought the house down” at the Himpunan Merdeka Rakyat rally at Padang Timur in Petaling Jaya last night.

Some 6,000 supporters of the PKR de facto leader turned up to listen to the man some address as “Pak Sheikh”, a term of respect.

When the master of ceremony announced that Anwar was going to deliver his speech, the crowd erupted into loud applause and cheers, chanting PKR’s battle cry of “Reformasi”.

Anwar thanked the crowd, saying it was “kuasa rakyat” (the people’s power) that gave the mandate to Pakatan Harapan to rule for the next five years.

He asked attendees to “bash” ministers who do not perform in the new government, “except Dr Mahathir” (Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad), to laughter from the crowd.

Among the speakers were Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, Kulim Bandar Baru MP Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng, Kota Raja MP Mohamad Sabu and Pandan MP Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

Earlier, the crowd went wild when Anwar’s daughter, Nurul Izzah, announced that there will be no goods and services tax beginning June 1.

The crowd, which had gathered as early as 6pm, grew so large that the field next to Amcorp Mall was filled to capacity by 10pm. Those who could not enter were seen on the roads outside the venue.

The crowd shouted “Tangkap Najib” when Lim took to the stage.

The former Penang chief minister, during his speech, got everyone to sing along to “Rakyat bersatu tolak GST”.

Universiti Malaya student Adam Riong, 25, said he came to the rally to celebrate a “historic moment”, referring to PH’s win in the 14th general election.

“We want to see improvement, but they just took over the government. So, we have to give some time before we can judge them.

“We also want them to fulfil their promises.”

Y.L. Chin said she hopes PH will keep its promise to give the people a clean Malaysia.

“I hope to see a clean government that has integrity. We also want freedom of speech,” said the 23-year-old.

The event ended close to midnight. – May 17, 2018.