Thousands of Malaysians defied a police ban
to attend a countdown to the nation's 55th Merdeka or Independence Day,
proving once again that Prime Minister Najib Razak's BN government
could no longer hope to rely on authoritarian and violent crackdowns to
cling to power.
The Janji Demokrasi (Promised Democracy) event planned for Thursday had
been banned at the 11th hour by the police. Organized by Gabungan Janji,
a coalition of 47 NGOs, sister-countdowns were also held at various
states and cities around the world, with overseas Malaysians keen to
join in the celebrations. Malaysia celebrates its Independence Day
anniversary on Friday, August 31.
"This is a real show of love for the country. If not for the drizzle, the crowd would have been even bigger, so who says Malaysians are not patriotic? They love the country and without wishing to politicize the event, I think it is clear they know BN is bad news and must be removed from power," PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.
"You can feel the sense of unity of purpose tonight. This is a people
uprising Malaysian style. It is very peaceful but it is a revolt no
less, BN has lost the hearts and minds of the Rakyat."
Sea of yellow: HIDUP RAKYAT!
Together with colleague Fuziah Salleh, the PKR MP for Kuantan, Tian had
joined the crowd that thronged the Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur.
Blowing vuvuzelas, Malaysians from all walks
of life had slowly trickled in hours before the 11pm start of the
countdown in the historic square where Independence Day was declared 5
decades ago.
Most of those who came wore yellow to show their support for free and fair elections as requested by the organizers, who also distributed yellow flowers to the attendees.
"It was a good showdown. Hidup Rakyat! Merdeka Rakyat!" said Fuziah.
Earlier this afternoon, there was dismay after the police declared the event
as illegal and warned Malaysians not to attend. However, given the past
experiences with the Bersih 2.0 and 3.0 rallies, where the police had
brutally attacked the crowd, few Malaysians were really surprised by the
latest autocratic announcement.
"We did not expect this but we can't really say we are surprised either.
We are just shocked at how silly the police and Prime Minister Najib
Razak are making themselves over this issue of public demonstrations. It
goes totally against Najib's own promise of greater freedom to peaceful
assembly and confirms yet again what a sham the government of the day has become in Malaysia," PKR vice president Chua Jui Meng told Malaysia Chronicle.
Too late, thousands still came despite ban
Janji Demokrasi organiser Maria Chin Abdullah had confirmed receiving a
letter from Dang Wangi district police chief Zainuddin Ahmad that the
gathering was against regulations and should be cancelled.
"I received the letter around 2.15pm by hand. A few policemen came," Maria was reported as saying on Thursday.
However, it was too late to stop the crowd from showing up in a show of
solidarity to pressure the BN government for greater democratic space.
The Umno-controlled media had tried to tarnish the gathering by linking
it to Bersih as Maria is also a committee member in the coalition of
NGOs for free and fair elections.
"We support their right to take such action
[in organising the gathering] and we support their demand to improvise
our democractic system," Bersih had said in a statement to clarify that
it was not involved in organising the event.
On Monday, Maria and the Preservation of Jalan Sultan Committee (PJSC)
had held a two-hour meeting with Dang Wangi police chief Assistant
Commissioner Zainuddin Ahmad. The Janji Demokrasi event was planned
specially to take advantage of the long weekend break to give the people
time to get together and show their support for key causes.
PJSC chairman Yong Yew Wei had pledged that their event called ‘Merdeka March for Jalan Sultan’ would
be "harmonious, peaceful and joyous". The Merdeka March, which is to
garner support for the preservation of heritage buildings in the
country, is due to start from the Gospel Hall in Jalan Hang Jebat at 8.30pm.
According to Yong, his group will not carry placards, banners or
leaflets in strict compliance with the police advice. The same goes for
Janji Demokrasi, with Maria confirming there would be no speeches during
their event, except for a poem to be presented by national laureate A
Samad Said.
Don't politicize? Janji di CAPATI!
Oddly,
the Inspector General of Police himself had a day ago promised that the
gathering could take place. “There will be no issue as long as they
follow the rules to gather peacefully,” IGP Sri Ismail Omar told the
press.
However, Ismail was ridiculed for his comments that Malaysians should
celebrate the day without politicising it. “We should celebrate the day
in peace. There should be no room for indifferences and political
agendas,” Ismail had said.
His comments were derided because Najib himself had chosen for this year's Merdeka celebration the theme ofJanji diTepati or Promises Fulfilled in a bid to ramp up public sentiment for his government ahead of general elections which are widely expected to be called soon.
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