Well it was not quite a million people – other than the organisers, no one ever expected that many anyway, so let’s just say it was one million give or take a few hundred thousand, but nevertheless, tonight 30,000 of us had a party.
Anwar was in his usual element blasting all and sundry in BN to kingdom come – he also confirmed that he will take on anyone – especially a Najib-Badawi tag team in July 15th’s “Great Petrol Debate” scheduled to be telecast live on TV – “Lawan tetap lawan,” said he.
He explaind why swearing on the Quran to prove his innocence was not allowed by Islamic Law – one has tho be CHARGED in court first – the Ulamaks say that using the Quran to disprove a mere allegation would be tantamont to belittling the Holy Book. Islamic Law as with Civil Law places the burden of proof on the accuser, he said.
[See video of the incident below]
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This morning when I set out there, I feared roadblocks … NONE.
I feared roads leading to the venue closed … NONE.
I feared the FRU and Army blocking our way into the stadium and chasing us away, creating a standoff, frustration, running street battles, tear gas and water cannons a’la HINDRAF … NONE.
Have the police [and the BN who hold their leash] FINALLY got it that public demos are not the problem - THEY ARE.
Perhaps it was the compromise of having it in an enclosed area instead of on the streets, perhaps it was because it was held in Selangor State Govt. territory, but whatever the reason was for this total non-kacau bilau by the cops, I am truly grateful for it.
To their discredit, their omnipresence, along with their Army cousins on the streets of PJ yesterday was a very frightening blow into the collective groins of the public – perhaps they were smug in the knowlege that their show of power yesterday was enough to deter most of us from coming out; and they were right – 970,000 stayed away, and Najib today, called the gig “a failure.”
But the 30,000 who did show up were enough to send the message to the BN that 30,000 men, women and children would ignore all the fear tactics in the world and show up to hear Anwar out.
Just let Najib try and get these many people to show up to listen to him!
Anyway, let’s let the pictures do the rest of the talking …
Pix by DeadAlienX
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
For more pix by Deadalienx, click here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/publico.probono/PROTES2008
…then click “Slideshow”
VIDEOS by DeadAlienX:
Apologies for poor sound quality – I’ve only got a Nikon Coolpix cam.
Morning Shift:
HATTA RAMLI ROCKS DA MIC
RE FO MA SI STAGE SCENES
Night Shift:
KIT SIANG HOLDS COURT:
THE CROWD – “Najib penipu!!”
ANWAR IBRAHIM #1
ANWAR IBRAHIM #2
ANWAR IBRAHIM #3
ANWAR IBRAHIM #4
Carburettor Dung fracas: was that all Alak did? And this was the reaction?
According to Topix forum, “Vokalis Carburettor Dung Kena Pukul” - hayooo….
Truly sad what happened. Fortunately the police did not take the opportunity to stop the event and so far the mass media has not manipulate the incident.
Personally I believe what happened could have been avoided if the organizer had given a more specific instruction to all that performed. The performer should be more sensitive with the type of crowd that they were performing to. There was crowd from different state and background, families, children and even grannies. It was not a gig which the singer probably was used to.
However that does not justify the reaction of the crowd. if they were not happy, they could have approached the organizer and ask for the show to stop. That was all needed to be done and such fracas would not have happened. These kind of situation must be avoided at all cost. These are the situation that BN love to have.
At a deeper level, it is for us to realize how far we still have to go. If we want to wrest power and run this country, all of us at each level have to learn each others sensitivities and understand each other better. This is anti-racial politics is all about. its more than just slogan.
The incident is an opportunity for us to take lesson and be more vigilant for the future, for the organizer and the crowd alike. We need to be more rational and less emotional. Lets used all that energy and rage at the right target.