AIR OF EXCITEMENT IS BACK: Bersih names 6 places to gather at prior to Dataran

Bersih 3.0 organizers have identified 6 locations for protesters to gather at before moving on towards Dataran Merdeka on Saturday.

According to committee member Maria Chin Abdullah, the six places are Pasar Seni, Masjid Negara, KLCC, Brickfields, Jalan Sultan dan Masjid India.

She slammed the Kuala Lumpur City Hall for bad faith in denying them the use of Dataran Merdeka and the BN authorities for deliberately offering Stadium Merdeka as an alternative at the 11th hour when it was clearly too late for changes.

Indeed, Prime Minister Najib Razak's government has been playing a cat-and-mouse game with the Bersih organizers, offering the Football Stadium in Cheras, the Badminton Stadium and the Titiwangsa Stadium. Later on, the Bukit Jalil was also offered.

"We certainly do not see any reason why Dataran Merdeka is unsuitable in the light of the many events that have recently been held there, including 205th Anniversary of the Royal Malaysian Police," Bersih chairperson Ambiga Sreenevesan had said.

Barricaded but not a setback: Campers vow to stay

Meanwhile, the Dataran Merdeka was barricaded and turned into a no-go zone by DBKL without incident early this morning.

At 2.30am DBKL begin to put down plastic barricades and ordered cars that were parked along the historic square to move.

About 4am, 30 DBKL officers moved into the square and advised students who were protesting about the issue of free tertiary education to pack up their things and leave.

DBKL then proceeded to put metal gates and another row of plastic barricades around the area. The plastic barricades were then filled with water to ensure that it cannot be easily knocked down.

Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM) president Mohd Safwan Anang however remained defiant and said that the students will "hold the place" until the Bersih 3.0 sit down rally tomorrow.

"This is not a setback, we will be here until the rally ends peacefully," he told theSun.

Air of excitement is back!

Meanwhile, civil society leaders and Opposition politicians have slammed the Najib administration for its high-handed action towards the Bersih 3.0 sit-in Duduk dan Bantah rally to demonstrate for free and fair elections.

"They are clearly afraid of the response, the crowd size. This is the reason for the sudden roughness. But the air of excitement is back and I think the more Najib and the police try to be funny, the more determined the crowd," PKR vice president Chua Jui Meng toldMalaysia Chronicle.

Bersih is targeting a total crowd size of 500,000. The Duduk dan Bantah rally will also be held across the nation and in 71 cities in 29 countries.

Be early!

All those attending have been reminded to bring a small bottle of water, a small thick towel, sale, ear plugs, wear long pants, long sleeves, jogging shoes. It is also very important to be early - at least by 2 hours.

"This time, I think Bersih 3.0 will not be as bad as Bersih 2.0 In Bersih 2.0, people were not even allowed to wear yellow, they were questioned and arrested on the street in the early morning, KL was completely locked down (aah, you missed out on this experience of what a lock-down is really like, this in itself is an experience)," reminisced a a photographer who attended Bersih 2.0.

"There was also a crackdown by the police, there were threats from Perkasa and Umno Youth, a court order forbidding a bunch of leaders from entering KL, news of planted parangs at SOGO and Pertama Complex (probably planted by you know who to scare away protestors), pre-arrests and raids on premises, and so on. This time there is none of those. Hishamuddin even said "Bersih is not a security threat". What a change from last time."

"I enjoyed the experience of Bersih 2 very much even though I was tear-gassed. The whole experience was enriching. I can now understand better what it is like to be tear-gassed, as well as how a crowd behaves, the atmosphere of being in a crowd, the stresses, the psychology, the suffering, the bravery, etc."

SALAM BERSIH!

Malaysia Chronicle