At the Fisherman’s Wharf, one of Penang’s most popular hawker food centres, some 300 people turned up to “welcome” back the 77-year-old, greeting him in Chinese with “lao da” (our big brother) and “jia you” (keep fighting).
“Lim Kit Siang, this is your time. Ini kalilah,” a man was heard telling Lim as he walked past, with supporters jostling to take selfies with him.
“Thank you all for your heartfelt wishes,” Lim told the crowd, switching between English, Mandarin and Hokkien, as he prepared to address the topic of the day: the general election.
“We need to focus on winning, with just 100 days to the election.”
Lim was not present during Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) convention last month, when former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was officially announced as the coalition’s candidate for prime minister.
However, he was confident that Mahathir would be able to attract the elusive rural votes for the opposition.
“We want Umno voters to come out for the first time in 60 years to change. It is difficult, it is formidable, but it can be done.
“It is not easy, but we have an opportunity once in 60 years to bring about change,” he said.
But he added that Malaysia’s “backward” electoral system was a problem, as well as some three million eligible voters who have yet to register.
“The Election Commission can assist them in registration, say, two weeks before the general election. Why is it that we need three or four months?
“In this information-technology era, we seem to be travelling at bullock-cart speeds.”
Once DAP’s poster boy to wrest Penang from Barisan Nasional in the eighties, Lim was coy on rumours that he would return to the state.
He won the Kampong Kolam state seat in 1986, and Padang Kota in 1990. He was also the Tanjong MP for 13 years, before his defeat in the 1999 general election.
“I am in Penang now. I will always be back,” he told FMT later.