After months of scuffles, mudslinging and stern warnings from authorities, the capital is braced for the Bersih 5 rally, as well as a counter rally called by the Red Shirts.
10.20am: A group of Orang Asli numbering more than 100, are carrying anti-logging banners, and calling for the protection of their rights.
10.18am: The crowd at Dataran Merdeka has swelled to 1,500 people.
10.17am: More than a thousand Red Shirts supporters have gathered in the vicinity of the PWTC. Umno Youth Exco Armand Azhar Abu Hanifah is among them. Many of the Red Shirts
10.08am: Coffee and sandwiches available for Bersih 5 participants. Khairul, 30, an employee of Kopi Boy, began selling sandwiches at 7am, but business was still slow.“I am going around the city to sell my sandwiches,” he said, at Dataran Maybank in Bangsar.
“After this I am heading to Dataran Merdeka where everyone is gathering,” he said, adding he has sold some 20 of the 150 sandwiches he prepared.
10.02am: Wheelchair-bound Syakirin Abdul Aziz comes all the way from Gombak to distribute mineral water for free, to Bersih 5 participants. He was seen traversing the area in front of Masjid Jamek. “This is the first time I’m coming to help and attend the Bersih event,” he told FMT.
10.00am: Meanwhile, student activist Adam Adli showed up at Dataran Maybank.
Speaking to the crowds, he said 20 police officers paid him a visit last night, and said, “…but today I’m here.”
“The next generation will thank us today. We are not doing this for ourselves, this is for our next generation. So that we do not inherit a corrupt nation in the future.”
10.00am: Bersih 2.0 co-chairperson Shahrul Aman Mohd Saari says police road blocks have made it difficult for the Bersih 2.0 secretariat to enter the Masjid Negara area, as their four-wheel drive, which is used as a makeshift stage was not allowed into the area.
At present, there are some 400 Bersih 5 participants in the area.
9.55am: Crowds start to build up in front of the Masjib Jamek LRT station, blasting their vuvuzelas.
9.53am: Ambiga addresses a crowd of 500 at the Bangsar LRT station. “Yesterday was a bad day. In the morning they (the authorities) dragged Malaysiakini to court. In the afternoon, they raided the Bersih (office) and arrested Maria and Mandeep, Anis and so many others. Although they (those arrested) are not with us, they are proud of us today.”
Ambiga said there was no reason for the people to be afraid. “They tried to stop Bersih 5 but it seems that they have failed.”
9.43am: More policeman are stationed at the junction next to Dataran Merdeka.
Ambiga is joined by Mat Sabu at Dataran Maybank.
9.30am: Some 200 Red Shirts supporters have gathered at the Bandaraya LRT station after marching from Masjid Jamek to Jalan TAR where they clashed briefly with some Bersih 5 participants. The Red Shirts supporters from the Bandaraya LRT station are being joined by their comrades in front of Sogo Shopping Centre and are moving towards the PWTC where more of them have gathered.
9.29am: Former Bersih chair Ambiga Sreenevasan says, “I miss her. Maria may not be here but she is here in spirit. We must go on, we must go on!” Crowd is heard shouting back, “Hidup Ambiga!”
Ambiga replies, “Nobody is afraid. We are going on. Maria, Mandeep and everyone else (who was arrested earlier) are here in spirit. All of us here who have come out, we are going out!” -FMT
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