Darkness, barbed wire fail to stop vigil for Anwar

Former Bar Council president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan says the people should do everything legally possible to release Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim from prison. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Seth Akmal, March 6, 2015.

The streetlights leading to the Sungai Buloh prison were switched off and a barbed wire barricade was pushed forward but that did not stop a crowd from turning out for the vigil last night to show support for the release of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Former Bar Council president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan told the crowd they should not be cowed when faced with obstacles like the darkness but that they must do everything legally possible to release Anwar from prison.

"When they switch off the lights, our candles would burn brighter, you can never take away the spirit of the rakyat... We must not be afraid," she said.

"We must do everything legally possible to get Datuk Seri Anwar out of there."

After Ambiga finished speaking, Anwar's daughter Nurul Izzah, who is also PKR vice-president and Lembah Pantai MP, took the microphone and recited a poem with the message that her father was innocent.

Nurul Izzah Anwar urges supporters of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to attend the #KitaLawan rally this Saturday. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Seth Akmal, March 6, 2015.With her voice breaking on several occasions, she told the crowd that the last time she saw her father was on February 13, adding that they were allowed to visit once a month.

"But there is no contact visit. Although our father told us not to cry, but tonight even though I cried, don't tell my father, we would do our best this March 7," she said, referring to the #KitaLawan rally this Saturday.

The crowd then broke into a loud applause, expressing their support. They also lit more candles and used their handphone flash to light up the event. They then broke into the song, “Suara Rakyat”, in front of the prison.

Also present was PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil, who urged the crowd to attend this Saturday's rally to push for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's resignation and to demand for Anwar's release.

Last night marked the 23rd day Anwar was incarcerated. PKR has vowed to hold the nightly vigil outside the prison until he is released.

The Federal Court on February 10 found Anwar, who is also PKR's de facto leader and Permatang Pauh MP, guilty of sodomising his former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, and upheld the five-year prison sentence imposed by the Court of Appeal.

- TMI