Despite facing numerous obstacles from the authorities over PKR’s Deepavali event in Brickfields last night, de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim received a warm welcome.
Over 500 supporters waited for about 90 minutes under the steady rain to welcome Anwar Ibrahim's arrival at 9.30pm.
There was momentary chaos as he disembarked from his Jelajah Merdeka Rakyat bus as hundreds swarmed around the opposition leader hoping to catch a glimpse of him.
Earlier, PKR vice-president and Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar said the party was disappointed with an "unsupportive" Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) for refusing a permit to erect a stage for the event.
"This year, as usual, DBKL has not been very kind. So we are stuck with celebrating Deepavali in a very unconventional guerrilla way," she said.
"They haven't provided support and cooperation. Unfortunately DBKL was giving a lot of problems to us. Flags were taken down; we were not allowed to erect a stage for the purposes of a Deepavali celebration," she toldMalaysiakini when met prior to the event.
She said the party had been applying for the permit for about a month without success.
Over 500 supporters waited for about 90 minutes under the steady rain to welcome Anwar Ibrahim's arrival at 9.30pm.There was momentary chaos as he disembarked from his Jelajah Merdeka Rakyat bus as hundreds swarmed around the opposition leader hoping to catch a glimpse of him.
Earlier, PKR vice-president and Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar said the party was disappointed with an "unsupportive" Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) for refusing a permit to erect a stage for the event.
"This year, as usual, DBKL has not been very kind. So we are stuck with celebrating Deepavali in a very unconventional guerrilla way," she said.
"They haven't provided support and cooperation. Unfortunately DBKL was giving a lot of problems to us. Flags were taken down; we were not allowed to erect a stage for the purposes of a Deepavali celebration," she toldMalaysiakini when met prior to the event.She said the party had been applying for the permit for about a month without success.
Poking fun at adversary
As he visited the shops on the colourful street sometimes known as ‘Little India' and showered with gifts, cheers of "Reformasi" quickly gave way to panicked shouts of "Don't push!"
In the meantime, the bus, parked at the entrance to an alley along the busy Jalan Tun Sambanthan was morphed into a makeshift stage for PKR leaders such as Nurul, party vice-president N Surendran, and Subang MP R Sivarasa to address the predominantly Malaysian Indian crowd.
By the time Anwar returned to the stage about an hour after his walkabout, he was in traditional Indian headgear, sporting a large necklace, and many floral garlands hanging from his neck.
There, he delivered a brief speech - no more than five minutes - urging the audience to vote against the BN government, which he tagged as corrupt.
"I don't want to disrupt businesses here, so I will keep this short," he said, before departing to another ceramah in Bandar Tun Razak.
There, about 1,500 supporters gathered on a waterlogged football field as he poked fun at various issues.
In the meantime, the bus, parked at the entrance to an alley along the busy Jalan Tun Sambanthan was morphed into a makeshift stage for PKR leaders such as Nurul, party vice-president N Surendran, and Subang MP R Sivarasa to address the predominantly Malaysian Indian crowd.By the time Anwar returned to the stage about an hour after his walkabout, he was in traditional Indian headgear, sporting a large necklace, and many floral garlands hanging from his neck.
There, he delivered a brief speech - no more than five minutes - urging the audience to vote against the BN government, which he tagged as corrupt.
"I don't want to disrupt businesses here, so I will keep this short," he said, before departing to another ceramah in Bandar Tun Razak.
There, about 1,500 supporters gathered on a waterlogged football field as he poked fun at various issues.
Culture with caustic touch
"When (Prime Minister) Najib Abdul Razak says (something) and we invite him to debate it, he wouldn't dare.
"What would he dare? He would dare to open debate competitions at secondary schools.
"(He'd say), ‘We must teach our children to speak well, and take part in debate competitions would improve the quality of debates in schools. But you (Anwar)? That is not our culture.'
"What is our culture? Throw stones at buses. ‘Butt dance' at Bersih co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan. God willing He would give us strength (to face this)," he said.
In his speech, he also reiterated several PKR election promises, such as lowering fuel prices, provide free education, and to abolish the car excise tax.
"What would he dare? He would dare to open debate competitions at secondary schools.
"(He'd say), ‘We must teach our children to speak well, and take part in debate competitions would improve the quality of debates in schools. But you (Anwar)? That is not our culture.'"What is our culture? Throw stones at buses. ‘Butt dance' at Bersih co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan. God willing He would give us strength (to face this)," he said.
In his speech, he also reiterated several PKR election promises, such as lowering fuel prices, provide free education, and to abolish the car excise tax.
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