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Contributed by Bar Council Human Rights Committee

KELANA JAYA, 6 July: Much ado has been raised by the mainstream media and the cyberspace alternative media of the Coalition against Inflation (Protes) Rally or better known as ‘Himpunan Protes Aman Sejuta Rakyat’ for weeks before the event took place.

The Bar Council Human Rights Committee and the Selangor Bar Committee have jointly sent a team, which consists of Amer Hamzah, Peter Skelchy, Salim Bashir, Sreekant Pillai, Suzanawati, Roger Chan, Seira Sacha, Halim Ashgar, Usha Kulasegaran, Siti Zabedah, Wan Razali and Andy Yong, to monitor and report on the event and all were well-prepared to provide legal aid for urgent arrest, should it happen.

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Report from 10.00am to 2.00pm – Contributed by Roger Chan Weng Keng:

A rally against the recent petrol price-hike got underway at the Kelana Jaya Stadium today. About 15,000 people hailing mainly from component parties of Pakatan Rakyat, non-governmental organisations and civil society groups attended the gathering. This is so despite it being dubbed illegal by the police earlier, on the basis that the gathering has not been granted the required permit. The argument did not seem to deter the crowd who were more interested in ensuring that their fundamental rights, inter alia, to assemble freely and without arms as guaranteed under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution are respected and not to be lightly interfered with.

The theme of the day's gathering lies in that keyword 'Turun', written in red banners and posters displayed in just about every nook and corner inside the stadium. The centrality of the message is, down with the price of petrol.

The mood of all present was one of up-beat and exuberant. A few rounds of speeches generally aimed at the problems associated with the recent rise in the price of petrol vis-a-vis the men in the street are given by representatives from Pakatan Rakyat parties such as PAS and DAP. The speeches, which set the tone and feeling of the day, basically attributed the root cause of the problem to the incompetency and inefficiency of the Barisan Nasional government. By and large, the crowd donned red t-shirts, and this shows tremendous esprit de corps to the cause.

Outside the stadium, three important facts were noticeable. The first was at its perimeter, where vendors reaped the benefit of brisk and rousing businesses, hawking items ranging from Protes t-shirts, VCDs on latest political updates, books, foodstuff and the like. The second was the steady flow of people streaming in supposedly from a nearby LRT station, or after having parked their cars far away from the stadium. While the third was a complete lack of police presence, there was no FRUs or Light Strike Force whatsoever in the vicinity. Of course it is possible to hypothesize the presence of special branch officers inside and outside the stadium, but to dwell beyond this point seems hardly necessary.

Having said all this, the rally assumed a character more like a peaceful carnival than a peaceful assembly. There was a live band at hand, belting out a few numbers every now and then, presumably to make us feel a little musical rather than political.

At 1.00pm the rally adjourned for lunch break. At 2.00pm the people re-assembled.

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Report from 2.00pm to 6.00pm – Contributed by Peter Justin Skelchy:

The recent 40% increase in fuel prices spurred thousands to the Kelana Jaya stadium on Sunday to vocally register their dissatisfaction to the government. It looked like the afternoon heat, the absence of the police permit or the rumours in the air of a security crackdown were of no deterrence to the crowd.

While some of the foreign journalists present informed me that due to previous experiences in covering demonstrations in Malaysia, they had come adequately prepared with gas masks, etc., they were of the view that the scene outside the Kelana Jaya stadium took on a largely carnival or "pasar malam" like atmosphere, which started since morning. Apart from the usual police helicopter hovering continuously above the stadium, the only other notable police presence was the two mobile police stations placed about 30 metres from the stadium. There were also ambulances on standby, although without the charging FRU, I think the medical personnel were left with not much to do.

The mood inside the stadium after the lunch break was decidedly more serious. The fuel hike and the accompanying rise in prices for basic goods has hit the pockets of most Malaysians and the participants in the Sundays' rally were there to state it as loudly and as clearly as they could. The theme in my observation was largely, "reduce the fuel prices or get out".

The Pakatan Rakyat big guns started taking to the podium around 3.00pm with Azmin Ali, Mat Sabu and Teng Chang Kim among the speakers in the afternoon. Selangor Menteri Besar, Tan Sri Kalid arrived at the Stadium at about 5.00pm and spoke about half an hour later. Security around the stadium ground was handled by PAS's Unit Amal and PKR's security personnel, whom quickly huddled around the arriving "Yang Berhormats" to escort them to the podium. Although the crowd trickled in and out the stadium throughout the evening while listening to the various speakers, I sensed most were waiting to hear Pakatan Rakyat's biggest gun, Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, whom was scheduled to speak later in the evening.

All in all, besides the obvious politics attached to the gathering, the central theme resonating with the attendees were that of most Malaysians, that is, the effect of price hikes and inflation on people's everyday lives.

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Report from 6.00pm to 11.00pm - Contributed by Seira Sacha Binti Abu Bakar:

The rally continued in the evening with the introduction of a band to provide entertainment for the crowd. The performance was, however, abruptly stopped when the singer made an obscene gesture which offended several people. Angry supporters started to throw bottles and some rushed to the stage, but they were stopped by the organisers.

Within minutes, Hishamudin Rais stepped up to the platform and apologised for the behaviour of the singer. The organisers then continued to appeal to the crowd to remain calm. Coincidently it was time for Maghrib prayer and the organiser persuaded the Muslims to perform their prayer.

At around 8.00pm, a helicopter was spotted hovering above the stadium. One can only guess that the real action would begin soon. Around 8.30pm, the leaders began to arrive. Each was greeted with cheers as they entered the stadium. As the photographers lined up near the entrance to catch a picture of Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim arriving for the rally, the crowd began to swell outside the stadium. Any doubt of poor turnout was crushed by the sight of about 30,000 Malaysians in a sea of red t-shirts standing on every inch of the field.

At approximately 10.00pm, Dato’ Seri Anwar took to the stage amidst shouts of “Reformasi”. He repeated the sentiments of all the previous speakers and touched on the recent sodomy allegation against him.

The all-day rally finally ended at around 11.00pm with no arrest made.

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"What we witnessed yesterday was the testimony that the rakyat of Malaysia are capable of exercising their right to a peaceful assembly in a civilised manner. The threat by the IGP and his intention of using the armed forces against the rakyat were definitely unjustified. The rakyat came in peace and they have spoken - they are against all forms of socio-economic injustice or tyranny. For as long as the rakyat are oppressed, they will continue to fight." - Amer Hamzah Arshad, Deputy Chairman of the Human Rights Committee

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