Wednesday, September 26, 2007

We are Marching

The ground is shaking, Putrajaya is awakened from its sleep. A thousand lawyers, activists, and bloggers are marching peacefully to the PM's Dept from the Palace of Justice. We form a line stretching almost a kilometre, I estimate. I am nearer the back row. It's 12.15pm, about 20 or 25 minutes into the walk.

Earlier, about 200 lawyers were ordered by the police to get off the buses that were ferrying them from KL to Putrajaya. This group, led by Edmund Bon, had to walk 4 or 5 km to get to the Palace of Justice.

There are FRU trucks, a couple of choppers, and scores of cops to safeguard the peace in Putrajaya.

We are marching to safeguard the integrity of the Judiciary.

More later ....(Posted from a Blackberry).

45 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:55 pm

    Lets us stand up for once in our life and called on the authorities to clean up the judiciary. It was damaged by mahathir and for Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi to initiate a proper clean up is the best he could do for this country of ours ...and a gift for the 50 years of Independence. Judiciary must be FREE if not close down all courts ..let poeple like VK Lingam do the nego and decide the outcome of cases ...lets see what happen to the Altantuya case.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous12:59 pm

    Watch out for that flag burning fella.

    He's somewhere around.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Pictures please...

    Bro, you have a blackberry nooo... :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is a video dedicated to Bangsa Malaysia. A song created to be a singalong anthem for Malaysian.



    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OROveFdp7Cs

    ReplyDelete
  5. i wish i could join! :(

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous2:12 pm

    let us be heard, let us make it clear, we're making a stand, that we would not tolerate such corruption in our country anymore. stop the rot, it's a beginning to make our voices clearer and louder.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous2:46 pm

    i wish i could join you guys. i hope nothing bad happens to any of you. our government is seriously sick. i believe that we, the citizen of malaysia can cure it.

    im worried sick. be safe guys.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous2:48 pm

    Rocky,

    Who are the lawyers giving the petition to?

    Just heard (unconfirmed as yet) that PM and wife have flown to Paris and will soon be expected in New York.

    Is there a month this man is not out of the country for extended periods? When does he work? He must be the most travelled Head of State in the world ever!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm physically sick, so have to skip the maarch this time; may you guys achieve your goal!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous2:52 pm

    my friends went to make their MyKad in Putrajaya... they said not many people and the line did not stretch 1 km. they saw the cops stopping some people but its not as earth shattering as rocky describes.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous3:15 pm

    as they march towards the PM's office, the sky shed tears... crying and asking for justice for the rakyat...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous3:24 pm

    heard farklah shirk his duties & run off to europe/us... izzit ?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous3:43 pm

    A police state indeed.
    You are not allowed to get into your own admin capital?
    What are they so afraid of?
    Why are they sabotaging the PM's promise of freedom and openess?
    Isn't the police under the PM too?
    Alas Mahathir was right. This is a police state. Police are busy corralling the protestors that murderers, rapists and other scums of the earth are getting away scot free. At least there were less crimes and more progress and even protests during Mahathir's "draconian era".

    ReplyDelete
  14. caya la bro,
    you guna blackberry untuk post this issue.. caya la..

    anyway, its good to be in Putrajaya today...

    ReplyDelete
  15. anon@2:52pm:

    hi... i was there.
    hmmm....wonder why your friends couldn't see the huge number of people...

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous4:17 pm

    To the anonymous at 2.52pm,

    At first I thought Rocky really blew things out of proportion. But after looking at the photos from Malaysia-Today, I would say he was quite precise about what he wrote.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous4:19 pm

    In more than one way, our travelling and sleeping PM really reminds me of Gus Dur .
    Wonder where he (Gusdur) is now ? That could be an inkling of what is to come in our history.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous4:20 pm

    Bravo guys, how I wish I'm currently in Malaysia and being part of the rally too!

    ReplyDelete
  19. How many lawyers and members of the Bar Council actually were in this march, from POJ to PMO?

    50%? 70%? 15%????

    ReplyDelete
  20. our government is sick! its either ur with them or against them.. looks like now the lawyers are against them! sick sick sick government! how can 92% of the ppl were wrong in electing them in?

    if u guys were mat rempits then maybe you guys could march under the eyes of khairy. but since lawyers were professionals with the brains of their own, its unacceptable!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anon at 2.52. What time was your MyCard friend there. I was there at 11.10 and there were already close to 700 people. Two hundred lawyers in chartered buses were not allowed to proceed and they walked some 5km to the Palace of Justice. A thunderous applause greeted these 200 odd marchers when they arrived at POJ, amongst them Shar101 of Old Blue Eyes. Amongst them many muslim lawyers who are fasting....but they walked because they were not allowed to proceed in the buses. Was your friend at PutraJaya or at some other place. No matter, next time come yourself to show support for a good cause. Even if Rocky exaggerated as you accused him of, so what? The marched in the hot sun and the rain came down and they brave lawyers stood their ground IN THE RAIN for close to an hour....drenched but full of spirit.WHERE WERE YOU. Anyway, be comfortable, watch and criticise from a distance. We do not expect much from the likes of you.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous4:45 pm

    i'm very proud that this march went ahead despite the police blocking the buses from entering putrajaya. it's our right as malaysians, to demand action be taken upon this lingamgate incident.

    let us be heard, let us say it loudly, let us say it clearly, let us make a stand that we as malaysian would not tolerate such disgraceful acts of hypocrisy and an incompetent government, which clearly and blatantly ignores the cries of the people for a royal commision, not a half-baked commission that serves the government. we will not tolerate anymore corruption, especially one at the highest order of the country. time to stop the rot and clean up the mess for a brighter future for our children.

    that being said, i read on bernama this morning that our PM has safely landed in New York for a UN assembly. I hope he enjoyed his flight there on his new airplane, at the expense of the people.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous4:47 pm

    We are marching against lies. We are marching against hypocrisy. We are marching against idiocy. We are marching against stupidity. We are marching against racism. We are marching against bigotry. We are marching against your divide-and-rule policy, Umno.

    ReplyDelete
  24. bro,
    for all who find it hard to beleive , the photos on my blog were around 11am only and already the crowd was swelling...what is with these people about how big the crowd was, anyway ?
    sheesh !
    and bigdog about 70% were lawyers...happy ? you should have been there instead of asking all these irrelevant questions !
    Cheers !

    ReplyDelete
  25. Zakirs Zoo aka Big Dog(?)Numbers dont matter. The intention and the message mattered. Being drenched and standing in the rain mattered....and the lawyers stood their ground.Shanghai Fish has some fotos for you and Anon 2.52

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous5:56 pm

    Bro, no fair you using blackberry when mine's taken by those grizzlies.

    Den basah kuyup tadi jang! - Amir

    ReplyDelete
  27. Well done Bar Council! The stupid government cant even trust lawyers to doa peace march? Anyway lucky thing they didnt exploit the situation by haveng Mat Rempits to create chaos ao that they can have the excuse to order the police to fire live bullets. Later on they will hunt you down based on your pictures to say that you were involved in an illegal rally. Down with the devil of a government!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous6:20 pm

    Great to meet you there Rocky. Check out your pic on my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Number does matter. Event was organised by Bar Council and marchers were asked to dress like the lawyers. If ONLY 15% of 1000 marchers are lawyers and members of Bar Council, then it is not reflective of the 12,000 odd Bar Council members who practice in the Klang Valley.

    Infact, if there were ONLY 150 lawyers amongst the marchers, then that only represent 1% of the lawyers in Klang Valley.

    What happened to the other 98% lawyers? Don't they care about what the marchers protested?

    Or they don't actually feel that the march could actually achieve anything/something?

    Zorro, Yes numbers matter!

    That's why when there is a story about anything, the number is stated to give the more wholesome picture.

    BTW, people get drenched whilst playing golf too. So getting drench means squat to ppl like me!

    ReplyDelete
  30. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous6:44 pm

    Rocky,

    Heard that Malaysia improved from 44th spot in 2006 to 43rd the 2007 under the Corruption Perception Index! That's very-very marginal but who cares! The headline will read as - MALAYSIA HAS IMPROVED!

    Congratulation! TV3 & NST will be reporting this like crazy tonight and tomorrow! Wonder who Nazri will react to this?

    2002 = 33rd
    2003 = 37th
    2004 = 39th
    2005 = 39th
    2006 = 44th

    At last, this ends a 5 year downward spiral in the ranking and all during PAK LAK's time. Now who dare to say PAK LAK is sleeping!

    HJG

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous6:51 pm

    jagjit

    we were conned big time the last round. will you be taken for a similar ride come this election? over my dead body. most effective weapon is to vote against this corrupt and arrogant regime.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous6:51 pm

    Rocky,

    I know this isnt my blog but I need to answer anon at 2.52 pm

    Anon at 2.52, I was there. You friends were wrong. Sorry about that

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous6:59 pm

    zakhir, are you a statistician? what is your point? why do you keep on with the "ifs"?

    the fact of the matter is, whilst there were a large number of lawyers who did not agree with the cause, either because of their own political connections or for a failure to understand the reason for the march in the 1st place (as did DAP and keadilan), most lawyers were stuck in court. no court was going to grant them an adjournment for the march.

    and zakhir, maybe the next time you play golf, you should wear office attire, together with a jacket, and stand still in the rain.

    trying to belittle what was done is not going to make you look macho or smart, just stupid. failing to see the difference between the 2 is a clear gauge of your intelligence

    ReplyDelete
  35. Anonymous7:07 pm

    anonymous at 2.52 did not wear his glasses....no wonder he saw so few...the rest of us new what we saw and experienced...check the blogs and videos please.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous7:29 pm

    Dear Rocky,

    What is this specimen Zakhir's Zoo
    blabbering about ? The message has been put across by the brave marchers and numerical puzzles is not the issue here.
    Just followed the news on TV by Singapore's Channel NewsAsia and their news correspondent covering the march (said it loud ) that more than 1000 people were at Putrajaya.This was well accompanied by their cameraman's focus of the scenes and a short interview with Ambiga of the Bar Council.

    People get drenched too while peeing....so Zoo take it easy and be one of us in our cries for changes instead of buat ramalan for your Magnum/Toto bets.

    BR -Rastaman

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anon (2.52pm),

    Quickly now. Get new friends.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Looking at the pictures uploaded, Anon@2.25 dah kena kantoi... Maybe Anon@2.25 is just another Che-Kai cyber-trooper.

    Thanks for the up-date bro Rocky.

    Adios

    ReplyDelete
  39. Anonymous9:35 pm

    What does the figure represents? This is about people volunteering to be there and of the 11000+ members, what is the distribution of lawyers throughout the country?

    Furthermore, if some lawyers have court duty or prior engagement or like the infamous VK who go on vacation, does that mean they are against it? I would think not all lawyers are athletic enough for the march. I also thought the turnout in the council meeting last week if a reflection of the majority of the lawyer's stand on the matter. Why being defensive against the government? Why don't we see some innocent anak jati organizing march to voice support for the government's condoning corruption and pussyfooting the critical issues of the country? See how many innocent people will go and support the march.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Anonymous9:46 pm

    I was walking by your side Rocky. Nice Crocks!!

    ReplyDelete
  41. Anonymous9:52 pm

    (I am anon 2.52pm)
    elviza, nuraina and zorro,

    thanks for the clarification. fyi zorro, i have a full time job as a sales person in a cake shop and i don't have the luxury of taking time off work to attend the protest. i so much want to be there but with 3 younger siblings to feed, clothe and school.. i can't take time off work no matter how much i wanted to be there.

    i did however see the photos at MT and i am so happy to see the support the march got. I am for the "movement" and not against it. My earlier post was one to seek clarification and i most definitely did not expect zorro to "scold" me for my (his assumption) "lack of interest.

    thanks guys.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Well, as usual, people do not want to commit! Assuming that it was 10 abreast, the line was about 1km!
    OK some, were slow walkers, and further down, the density of the crowd was not as evident as the front.
    From my experience, I put it to as much as 3000!

    ReplyDelete
  43. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Anon 2.52. I am sincerely sorry if I was harsh. Pls accept my apology. I never meant to hurt. Peace son.

    ReplyDelete
  45. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete