Permatang Pauh, Province Wellesly

I remember Permatang Pauh as a place of pontoon bridges....which you have to pass on your way to BM and Nibong Tebal in the late fifties and early sixties....As the bridges only allow a single file of traffic to cross it, most of the time you have to wait for your turn. During the peak season (Fridays or Saturdays & Public holidays), the queue can be quite long and the wait always take ages before you can cross the the river.

During those long waits, I remember looking around the surroundings along the river. The nipah palms and mangroves would often conjure up images of crocodiles half-submerged in the river ready to pounce on any straying mischevous boy like myself.

I would also fantasize going along the river like Tom Sawyer on a raft..what an adventure catching fish and looking for treasure...

But today, Permatang Pauh means something all together different...it is D PLACE.....the beginning of the END for BN, or any pause, a comma, and then a discreet turn for the nation...who knows?