FMT reports that a total of 205 police officers from the Dang Wangi and Bukit Aman police stations were deployed at Dataran Merdeka last night.
Well, I reached Dataran a little after 7pm, to do some reconnaissance on the accessibility to Dataran and to report back on twitter and to the Gabungan Janji media base.
And I was armed with 100 pieces of ABU’s 2-in-1 for delivery to our military and police personnel.
I went back home last night with just tw0 left.
I tagged 98 officers in blue with the ABU message!
Two weeks ago, dumb ass home minister Kerismudin speculated that the violence that occurred during BERSIH 3.0 would put off many people from coming for the Janji Demokrasi gathering at Dataran last night.
Malaysiakini reported him as saying then that not many were keen on the Janji Demokrasi event.
Were you at Dataran last night?
No?
I wasn’t able to take photos last night, so I am just going to nick some from Facebook.
Malaysiakini and FMT counted the numbers out at Dataran last night at about 10,000.
I estimated at least 15,000.
Hawkeye is convinced the number is closer to 25,000.
James sms’d me to say he was awed by the crowd, which he estimated at 50,000.
Rais Yatim is still counting.
Gerakan Sembilansatuenam
August 31, 2012
looking at the absence of FRU and lack of police personnel yesterday, it can be concluded that the Najib adminstration decided not to go head on with the Rakyat, because there is no way they can stop the Rakyat …
perhaps it has turned out to be better for the Najib administration, because of the lesser negative publicity …
however, this also means that the Rakyat is further emboldened …
judging by the photos posted yesterday, let us say 50,000 attended? not bad for a late night event …
so, Bersih 4.0, or Bersih 5.0, or Bersih GE13 will certainly be much bigger, say, 1,000,000?
benfoo
August 31, 2012
it was indeed a fantastic evening…..i had a spectacular time with my fellow ABM in yellow
abdul rahman Abdul talib
August 31, 2012
I was in a bad mood today but when I looked at the Rais Yatim@bakar Jembatan cartoon, it lived me up. Thanks kimosabi
JinHou
August 31, 2012
50,000 despite the inconvenience of no public transport after the event. Beat that Najib!
Donat Anthony Theseira
August 31, 2012
The writing has been on the wall for quite sometime already, only thing is that they didn’t take the time to notice.
Hard luck mates.
Anak Tanjong Tokong Lama
August 31, 2012
“Oh, how lovely is the evening, is the evening
When Malaysians mark Merdeka, mark Merdeka
Fifty-five, fifty-five.”
That is a song that all Cubs and Scouts will know how to sing,
except maybe those who did the National Service.
It was a good show for Malaysia and for all Malaysians
that we could do this without any violence shown.
barry
August 31, 2012
Although I didn’t stay until the countdown, it was clear by the sheer enormity of the number of people who turned out, just like my family of 5 (wifey and 3 children) plus my sister’s family of 4 plus another sister and a niece (11 of us, in total), we just wanted to send a clear message to the clown minister Kerismudin and the mode-changing-rapist-minister that we won’t be cowered. It was a great honour to meet up with you, Haris, in person and to shake your hand, my brother.
I will certainly give my two copper coins into your (no, OUR) ABU cause.
God bless, bro
Jong
August 31, 2012
THANK YOU and 3 cheers to all you brave, good, young and old at Dataran Merdeka last night,
I’m sure Tunku Abdul Rahman would have been very proud of you standing up to them.
A whole nation from Perlis to Johor to Sabah and Sarawak, was watching events closely,
fed-up to the brim of being bullied, brutalised and lies thrown at us for over half a century and
the defiance last night clearly demonstrated so!
Had this Najib regime called in the water cannon, tear-gas squad and red maria, it would have been their final burial! Count their blessings and glad nothing untoward happened; guess they knew they can ill-afford another battle with the rakyat!
shakuntala
August 31, 2012
Grand spectacle indeed….Wuenderbar!!!!. The tide is so great, keeps flowing each time
.
It was clearly the Peoples’Day…..isn’t that what Merdeka means….that we are a free People who have learned to pay attention to another word attached to freedom. We have become a People who exercise responsibility with our freedom.
The administration should not find that hard to swallow……
and I was there too, though not in yellow…….sorry. The changing colours on the clock tower face, as mid-night chimed to usher in Merkeka Day,reminded one that the times, they are a-changing!!!! …..it was Spirit, Spirit…..all the way, with the the crowds and crowds and crowds of People..
Remie
August 31, 2012
No, I was not at Dataran Merdeka. I was at KK Park in Kota Kinabalu, this afternoon!
Remie
August 31, 2012
Unfortunately, I did not recognise any representative from DAP Sabah or PKR Sabah to celebrate Sabah’s Merdeka with us?
Invictus
August 31, 2012
That thousands of Malaysians defied the Federal authorities by gathering last night at the Dataran sends a clear signal to those who labour under the delusion that they have the intellectual and moral reserves to govern us. To those ‘leaders’, I say: listen to our voices. Hear our grievances. All we want is a government – whether BN or Pakatan – which abides by the principles of good governance and all that it entails. I, for one, did not vote for a government which indulges in empty political posturing and employs buffoons whose only usefulness is unquestioning loyalty to those in power. Feel-good slogans do not assuage my outrage over the breathtaking scale of corruption and violation of the rakyat’s trust that we continue to see, over and over again.
Having said that, my prediction is that come GE-13, the BN will manage to stay in power, albeit with a lower majority. The critical mass of voters necessary to effect a change is simply not there – yet. But hope lies in our young people. Work with them, raise their level of awareness of good governance, and Malaysia might just have a chance.
On another note, it was good to meet you last night :). I thank you and the organisers of Janji Demokrasi for the great work.
Allen Tan
August 31, 2012
Well done folks. Count me in.
ALVIN
August 31, 2012
And for the first, TV stations did not telecast live the MERDEKA COUNTDOWN , and you already know why !
skydancerspace
August 31, 2012
And to imagine that the government of the day needed to rent a crowd for the merdeka celebration to look credible. A relative was paid RM 30 to mill around the padang….that’s how I know.
Another Anak Bangsa Malaysia
September 1, 2012
Huh?? No trouble or harassment by PDRM?? No nothing??
Damn, I can’t believe it 😦 You mean even a craven coward like me could have attended and gotten away scot-free with nary a scratch??? 😦
*sigh* I am gonna get a caning from this bunch of guys from my kampung when I see them. They did invite me along but I was simply too chicken.
I was worried because these guys are seasoned campaigners from Bersih 2 and Bersih 3.
I have been in hiding all day because I was too embarass to face them just in case they might be carrying battle scars from PDRM.
Now I am even MORE embarass to face them because they DO NOT have any battle scars!!!
Oh, the trials and tribulations of a lily-livered weakling is my lot. 😦
BTW, to all who did attend, more power to you 🙂
wandererAUS
September 1, 2012
It was obvious UMNO blue uniformed baboons will not like to spoil Merdeka Day celebration…it will be beyond damage if they (PDRM) chose to behave like “wild animal” on the rakyat, the only reason was to celebrate and remind this corrupted establishment to reform. If by now this UMNO/BN gomen continue to defy and ignore the call for justice by the electorate, they do not deserve to stay a day longer…ABU, ABU, ABU!
wandererAUS
September 1, 2012
Do you all know what? I flew in from Singapore yesterday in a completely painted Yellow Coloured
plane! Fernando must also be contemplating shifting his political stance…hahaha!
Zura
September 1, 2012
Nop i was there, not even 10000 its may less than 2000 due to so many things was placed there, like chairs and tents for the morning..event. Not are weared Yellow Bersih.
najib manaukau
September 1, 2012
Let us have the GE to morrow and stop any further dispute over the supports each party is claiming ? That would be most accurate !
Invictus
September 1, 2012
Let me add how touched I was to see a large group of young people (DAP Youth probably), all in Bersih T-shirts, sitting on the tarmac singing ‘Rasa Sayang’, and then later, at the stroke of midnight, the ‘Negara ku’ . I was also impressed with the many young Muslims I saw, clearly PAS members, who were as disciplined and courteous in the way that they conducted themselves. Many UMNO Youth members could learn a lot from their PAS counterparts. .
winnie
September 1, 2012
What can i say……A BIG SALUTE TO ALL………..In Sabah we wear yellow too ….to give our support……..Our VOTES will definately be OPPOSITION…Happy Merdeka to all and i pray we can make it come true……CHANGE
Fake Malaysia News
September 1, 2012
I saw some carefully edited TV footage the day after. It was cleverly done to show only a handful of yellow shirts. Im thankful it was peaceful. Merdeka should transcend politics and be about loving our wonderful country together.
sonya
September 1, 2012
I was there at the countdown in yellow shirt ….the crowd was very well behaved and its like whenever we saw the “yellow people” there was an instant recognition of comradeness. My friends who were dressed in yellow didnt have a chance to join in the celebration becos of the tremendous traffic jam and lack of parking bays. I would say the crowd was about 15k to 20k, not 50k la…cos it was much smaller than the 428 bersih crowd event that i attended.
Taipan
September 2, 2012
Yes, Haris! The writing’s on the wall! The Home Minister will now have to swallow his words. This proves that so long as the PDRM are doing their jobs to maintain law and order and not acted as licensed thugs for Umno, nothing untowards will happen. We came in peace. Rightly said, Shakuntala…..The Times They Are A-Changing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu03r7flXPg.
shakuntala
September 2, 2012
You may keep on counting till the cows come home….what’s important is that People are ready for change with their hearts and minds..the Spirit is WILLing….and they are seeking peace and goodwill to ALL men.
CHANGE, too.
Nurul Izza visited my post-box annoucing that registration to make one eligible for the vote is on at TMC in Bangsar today 2nd Sept. Think it started yesterday…..sorry she was on a leaflet, ….. with her endearing smile!!
Adam
September 3, 2012
Bravo to all who attended. You have not only celebrated our National Day in style, you have also sent a clear message to the government. You have also exonerated yourselves from the violence of 428. As I see it, the main reason PRDM did not react as expected was the simultaneous countdown organised by BN at the same venue. If the PRDM were to react as before, the other function would be ruined as well and they would not want that. Hence, the instructions to PRDM not to do anything.
fake Malaysia News
September 4, 2012
The government has done a good job so far of focussing on a handful of flag wavers and photo mooners instead of talking about just how positive the evening was for us all. Thanks for this post that gives it some positive perspective.
Voter Wan Abdullah
September 4, 2012
Me & 5 friends were there…in Janji Bersih 308 Ts as well. Ooopsi..out of topic here but important too. Sorry my apologies Haris :.
If you want Nurul Izzah to win then open your cheque books now. If not, then bye-bye Nurul Izzah and hello Raja Nong Chik. .
NOTE: Bank account where you can send money to is “AHLI PARLIMEN LEMBAH PANTAI”, Maybank, account number 5641 2834 5008 : http://malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/51275-battle-royale-in-lembah-pantai
We Stand Together
September 7, 2012
Is that really Nurul Izzah’s bank account, and one where donations are open to be made?
You know it is entirely possible for banking fraud to be committed on the basis of abused trust, so forgive me for double checking.
I don’t want to see a scenario where money banked into that account goes to the owner, but it’s not Nurul Izzah.
We Stand Together
September 7, 2012
Ok, sorry about that. I have just checked on her website and have confirmed that is indeed her bank account number.
http://www.nurulizzah.com/site/
bigjoe99
September 5, 2012
The larger point is this – There was no great personality or big machinery behind this event. Its almost entirely self-motivated. It reflects that the desire for change in this country is FUNDAMENTALLY COMPLETELY OPPOSITE TO MAHATHIRIST and the old order by UMNO/BN and especially the likes of Perkasa and the right in UMNO/BN.
In other words, there is no room for the likes of Perkasa, Mahathir and these people. A choice simply has to be made AND more than that, Perkasa & Mahathir simply is not even possible to be a choice eventually..
Lau Chin Jien
September 7, 2012
Sorry to sound pessimistic. However I still don’t think we’ll be able to beat the ‘system’ itself when they have phantom voters, postal votes and diehard fans who truly see things as oppositions are truly non-bumi (or should I say brainwashed voters). Don’t believe me? Read Malaysia Today. Someone is trying very hard to turn the fight between the elites and the middle lower class to a bumi and non-bumi fight, which is indeed very wrong and I am really sad about that.
Taipan
September 9, 2012
Lau Chin Jien,
Why waste your time reading MT? It is no longer the source of independent news that one can rely on today. It is more likely an Umno’s propaganda machine to be exact. It is alright to be pessimistic but while you are at liberty to do so, just remind yourself of these words:
“In order for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing”!
We Stand Together
September 7, 2012
At this juncture, looking at the media coverage of Janji Demokrasi, observing the provocative but ineffectual stances, words and actions of UMNO supporters, it is becoming clear that they want to provoke civil society and the opposition into acts that can then be used to paint us as radicals and extremists.
It’s a slow and steady boil where they hope that by continuously frustrating us, by continuously showing that they can use their power in CONTEMPT of the rakyat, we will be provoked into radical action. This is my suspicion.
The news coverage has not been helpful either. For every one article that highlight and shows a photo of the twenty to thirty thousand who came out for Janji Demokrasi, there are a lot more that play up on the flag and photograph incidents as well as the firestorm of controversy. But by doing so, these media outlets become complicit in manufacturing a collective memory of scandal and outrage instead of the courage and determination of the citizens who gathered at Dataran in defiance of the threats. The media has also consistently undercounted the crowd to give the impression that the turnout was less than it was.
bigjoe
September 8, 2012
You know, its time to sell yellow-t-shirts in the rural areas especially in Sabah & Sarawak…Actually I have a better suggestion – would it be possible to encourage people to use similar color recycled shopping bags? Maybe add ABU to it even?