Malaysiakini

Tens of thousands of protesters massed outside Istana Negara this afternoon, facing off against riot police in defiance of a government ban on the rally calling for clean and fair elections.

The demonstrators, an alliance of opposition parties and civil society groups, had marched in the driving rain to the palace, chanting “Election Reform” and “Justice”.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had vowed to suppress the demonstration, backing police who said they feared riots could break out.

But the rally went ahead despite efforts to close down the centre of Kuala Lumpur, with a heavy police presence and roadblocks that caused traffic snarls.

“There are close to 30,000 protesters here at the moment. We have agreed to have them sit down in front of the palace and have four representatives present a petition” to the palace representative, a senior police officer told AFP.

Bersih: 40,000 at palace gate

Organisers of the rally said that at least 40,000 had turned up for the rally.

Some 400 police in riot gear were deployed at the palace, including dozens armed with automatic weapons and several with tear gas launchers. Two water cannons were set up behind police lines.

“The Malaysian public must be allowed to express their opinions and views,” parliamentary opposition leader Lim Kit Siang said at the palace gates before going in to deliver the petition.

“It is not fair for the government not to issue a permit for this rally to take place as it is only the voice of the people being expressed here,” he said.

Organisers had planned to hold the rally at the city’s Dataran Merdeka but were forced to shift the venue after police sealed it off.

Anwar made short speech

Anwar Ibrahim, who was heir apparent to former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad until 1998 when he was sacked and jailed for sodomy and corruption, was only allowed to make brief remarks at the rally.

He yelled out his slogan of “Reformasi” or “Reform” and thanked the crowd for coming.

“We want free and fair elections and clearly Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and his cabinet are complicit to the crime of cheating Malaysians from having free and fair elections,” he told reporters later.

Anwar’s sodomy conviction has been overturned but the corruption verdict stands, barring him from standing for public office until April 2008.

Protests are rare in Malaysia, and the last major rallies were seen in 1998 during the “Reformasi” movement that erupted after Anwar’s sacking.

Andrew Ong
Malaysiakini

It appears that the city is under siege today - thousands of police personnel have been stationed in selective parts of Kuala Lumpur in anticipation of a mass rally scheduled for 3pm.

A 11am check at Dataran Merdeka, the rally venue, revealed the presence of more than 10 police trucks in front of the iconic Sultan Abdul Samad building. Rela personnel were also spotted.

The police sealed off all entrances to the square, but are allowing only tourists to visit the area.

Police checkpoints were dotted along in nearly every alley near the square while police from the General Operations Force (GOF), Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) and other uniformed officers are manning several positions around the area.

Organisers have designated four meeting points - Sogo shopping complex, Masjid Jamek LRT, Pasar Seni and the National Mosque - for participants to converge before proceeding to Dataran Merdeka.

However, a check by Malaysiakini this morning revealed that numerous police trucks were already in position at all four areas.

Traffic within the city however is still smooth with a marked reduction in traffic. Apparently commuters are jammed in the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. It was business as usual for most traders and business premises near Dataran Merdeka.

Major highways clogged

Several eyewitnesses also told Malaysiakini that traffic along the Federal Highway had been brought to a snarl due to at least four police checkpoints.

Each roadblock reduced the traffic to only one lane. It is believed that the police are turning back all buses and vans carrying suspected rally participants. A similar checkpoint was mounted along the Sprint Highway near Section 17.

Meanwhile, along the North-South Highway, a Malaysiakini reader reported a three to four kilometres jam at the Sungai Besi toll booth in both directions.

While being caught in the jam, the reader witnessed several cars being forced to turn back away from Kuala Lumpur.

Several eyewitnesses also reported unusual police checkpoints as far away as the entrance to the North-South Highway as far south as in Senai, Johor and in Sungai Buloh, north of Kuala Lumpur.

The Sungai Buloh to Jalan Duta stretch of the North-South Highway heading towards Kuala Limpur has been completely closed and traffic is being diverted to Kota Damansara and Damansara toll exits.

“They seem very hardworking today. Roadblocks are also seen along the North-South Highway near Tangkak (Johor), but it’s raining and they are resting under a shelter,” an the eyewitness.

A scheduled mass assembly at Dataran Merdeka by Bersih to submit a memorandum to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, which the police refused to permit, has resulted in road blocks being set up throughout the Peninsular Malaysia and water cannons as well as FRU trucks being deployed to the scene to disperse the expected 100,000 crowd.

While I was driving from Teluk Intan to Petaling Jaya this morning, I have encountered two road blocks, one at the Kampung Ayer Hitam junction at Route 58 and another just before the junction turning into the North-South Expressway (NSE) via Bidor interchange. At both road blocks, the policemen on duty took a peek into the car, watching everything and everyone inside before allowing drivers to proceed.

Along the NSE, I’ve seen water cannons and FRU trucks heading towards Kuala Lumpur.

The police should allow the assembly and march to proceed as it is a peaceful assembly anyway. Instead of setting up roadblocks everywhere, they should have spend the time to prevent crime from happening!

According to a news report published by Bernama:

Ministry To Hold Roadshows To Explain Price Hikes

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 8 (Bernama) — The Domestic Trade and Cosumer Affairs Ministry will go on roadshows to all parts of the country to explain the reasons for the current increases in the prices of goods.

Its Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal said that his officers would start the campaign at the Jelebu parliamentry constituency in Negeri Sembilan.

Speaking to Bernama outside the Umno General Assembly in the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) here today, he said the problem was not peculiar to Malaysia as it was happening globally.

He was asked to comment on a proposal by Johor Umno Youth chief Razali Ibrahim that the government should hold roadshows to explain why prices of goods were on the rise.

Meanwhile, Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin told Bernama that although the price increases was not widely debated in the assembly, it was an important issue.

Muhyiddin, who is also Umno vice president, added that the government was taking steps to reduce the impact of the price increases on the people. These included increases in the salaries of civil servants and also encouraging more people to venture into the agriculture sector.

Well, what is there to explain? We have enough of explanations! The 30 sen increase in petrol price in March 2006, the toll increase on 5 expressways in January 2007 are major contributors to the current increase in price of goods.

If the government had prevented a sharp increase in price of petrol and refused the toll hike, we would not be suffering higher price for goods today!

And don’t keep harping on salary increase of civil servants. Is everyone out there civil servants? How about those in the private sector who either gets no increment or a small token where the increment is not even covering the higher cost of living?

And don’t ask us to change our lifestyle. Why not the government, from the Prime Minister to the Cabinet Ministers change their lifestyle first?

Umno leaders say oil issue and voter concerns rule out polls by year’s end

Reme Ahmad, Assistant Foreign Editor
The Straits Times

NOVEMBER and December are out. March is now being bandied about as the likely date for an early general election in Malaysia.

This new window - after Chinese New Year on Feb 7 - seems to be gaining traction among Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders, who have taken into account several factors, including current voter concerns.

Excitement over imminent elections filled the hall of the Umno General Assembly on Monday when Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said: ‘The political radar is getting clearer and the temperature is heating up.

‘Our confidence in repeating our victory in the coming elections is well-founded.’

Just weeks ago, there was intense speculation that an election would be held by the end of this year, but some Umno leaders say current indications by the party leadership point to a date after the Chinese New Year, possibly in March.

All these dates, however, are still speculation because the decision to call an election depends solely on BN’s chief, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi.

The government’s current term ends in early 2009.

Those who have said the polls were imminent this year have tried to justify their prediction on the basis that the government would want a fresh mandate before fuel prices soar even higher.

The government has promised not to raise fuel prices at all for the whole of this year.

But it might have to raise prices by early January to reduce the burden of fuel subsidies. In the first eight months of the year, the government spent RM16 billion (S$6.9 billion) just to keep prices at current levels. That amount exceeds the RM15 billion for the whole of last year.

The last time the prices of petrol, diesel and LPG were raised in Malaysia was in February last year, when global oil prices hovered around US$61 (S$88). The global oil price hit more than US$98 a barrel yesterday.

In a closed-door briefing to party chiefs on Monday, Datuk Seri Abdullah devoted the bulk of his hour-long speech to his concern about the global energy crisis. He said the fuel subsidies at current levels are not sustainable as they eat deeply into government expenditure.

But Umno Youth leader Mukhriz Mahathir said the oil issue is just one factor the government would consider.

‘I do not think we decide on an election date based on something that happens outside the country. We feel confident that we can address the issue,’ he said.

Malaysia is also a net exporter of oil, and state oil firm Petronas is reaping a windfall from soaring prices, which must mean soaring tax revenues for the government as well. Every US$1 rise in oil price adds RM250 million to its revenue a year.

A December election date is also regarded as unlikely by others because of the annual flooding caused by the monsoon season.

Last December and early January this year, many areas in the staunchly Umno Johor state were inundated, along with wide swathes of Pahang and Malacca.

Said a political source: ‘If elections are to be held this year, none of the Umno movers I spoke to have received instructions.’ He was referring to the transfer of political funds for party buntings and T-shirts, and the booking of public meeting halls in constituencies.

Selangor Menteri Besar Khir Toyo was more direct when asked on Monday about the polls: ‘You can be sure it will not be held this year.’

A key issue that might delay the election until the Chinese New Year is this: Many urban Chinese voters are thought to be unhappy with the government’s handling of the economy, the rising crime rate and issues of race and religion. Raising the oil price just before the Chinese New Year could thus be seen as a politically insensitive move, political leaders say.

Also, calling out voters after March would more accurately reflect the BN’s practice in the past 11 general elections.

History has shown there has never been polls held before four years of a five-year term, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department M. Kayveas.

Reasons cited for holding polls…

…this year

1. Government may need to raise fuel prices next year.

2. Inflation is expected to worsen.

3. Chinese support may drop due to their perception that the government is handling poorly the economy, crime rate, and race and religious issues.

4. Fear that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad may resume his attacks on Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi when he recovers fully from heart surgery.

5. Stop opposition chief Anwar Ibrahim from taking part as an election ban on him expires only on April 15.

…next year

1. Datuk Seri Abdullah wants to make the ground sweeter by pushing big projects in mostly rural areas and raising economic growth.

2. Keeping with tradition as the Barisan Nasional (BN) has never gone to the polls until it completes four years of its five-year term.

3. Datuk Seri Abdullah wants to improve the government’s record on fighting crime and corruption.

4. The annual end-of-year moonsoon season and flooding in the east coast.