I was there when the relay started at Dataran Merdeka and I was there yet again to witness the torch relay on Jalan P. Ramlee under the heavy rain.

It started quite angrily for me. I had wanted to protest peacefully with no intention to disrupt the relay. Along with me was a camera and a placard with the word “liberty” written on it. Volunteers from China were not happy and forcefully took my placard away after physically harassing me. And so, I found out the hard way how violent these volunteers were. I’ve already described my experience at KL for a Free Tibet (and photos of another protester being harassed by the abrasive volunteers from China; my words there are harsh because I don’t take coercive kindly) and so, I shall refrain from retelling the story here.

But more photos are in order.

I caught a glimpse of the flame. First was at the Dataran Merdaka:

Security was really tight. Apparently, the security personnel were there to protect PRC volunteers, not the Malaysian citizens or everybody at large. While pro-Beijing people were allowed to display their political placards, those sympathetic to Tibet were not. In fact, when the peaceful pro-Tibet protesters were assaulted by the PRC volunteers/thugs, the police arrested the pro-Tibet protesters, not the ones committing the assault. The police did nothing to stop the pro-Beijing thugs from harassing those that disagree with PRC’s policies.

I shouted FREE TIBET when the Torch passed in front of my and was quickly grabbed from behind by a volunteer from the PRC. Mind you, not by a Malaysian police officer but a PRC volunteer instead. I pushed him back and made a complaint to an officer: the officer did nothing however but thanks the heaven that the PRC thug walked off, probably thinking that he might get himself in trouble if he continued to apply force against me in front of police officers, however timid these officers were against these PRC nationals.

Once the Torch left the Dataran Merdeka, I went straight to the Petronas Twin Towers to get another corru board to make a brand new placard just like the one robbed from me by the PRC volunteers.

The previous banner was like this, only prettier since I had time to do it properly:

This one took me less than 10 minutes to complete. That board is about the size of an A3 paper.

It rained after that but the Torch runner went on regardless.

This guy went off the bus to wait from the runner with a lit torch.

Notice the police presence. This must be the most protested Olympics in recent memory.

There were isolated small protests and all of them were forcefully suppressed by PRC volunteers with unsanctioned coercion power. Your truly was one of the victims and he got himself cited in an article in a local daily:

Another scuffle also ensued before the run in Dataran Merdeka when a group of Chinese national students took away a banner emblazoned with the word “Liberty” from a 24-year-old woman known only as Gek.

It was learnt that the group hit Gek’s head at least three times and chanted “One world, one dream, one China”.

The situation was defused when another woman calmed the members down and told them not to create trouble.

It was revealed later that the banner did not belong to Gek, but to Hafiz Noor Shams, 26, who said he came to the torch relay “to witness things”.

Asked on his intentions in bringing such a banner, Hafiz said that it was only a one-word banner.

“But they are free to interpret however they like,” he said, admitting that he was pro-Tibet. [Minor hiccups and a handful of arrests during run. The Star. April 22 2008]

I don’t like like how The Star reported the news. Like what Marina said to me through IM, it is as if I admitted to a crime. But after all, The Star is owned by a local political party, MCA after all. The Star was heavily biased but the recent election was a kick in the groin for them.

In any case, exercising liberty is not a crime. Harassment is.

Others whom plan to protest at other cities should be careful when these PRC volunteers are around. They have no qualm about using force to silent you. These volunteers which lived under suppressed society (Malaysians are suppressed too but at least, we are fighting back) have developed fascist culture of suppression where diversity of opinion are not acceptable. They know nothing about free speech or peaceful expression.

Protest peacefully though. Let teach them a leason or two about the real meaning of peace.

KL Pos memberi gambaran yang UMNO akan kalah kepada PAS di kawasan Parlimen saya, Titiwangsa.
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KL is so much better compared to Penang. But we have to concede: we do not have a coastline and we don’t have the luxury of watching porpoises from our own city.

BALIK PULAU: A pod of six porpoises was spotted in the waters off Penang, about 200m from the shores of Kuala Sungai Burung near Pulau Betong here.

The Star photographer Wan Mohizan Wan Hussein, a part-time fisherman, saw the porpoises as he was testing his boat after some maintenance works at 11.30am yesterday. [Porpoises seen frolicking off Penang. The Star. February 20 2008]

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 15 (Bernama) — A bomb found at the edge of a heap leaves underneath a tree near a food centre in Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz opposite the Celcom Tower here, just about half-a-kilometre from Bernama’s headquarters, caused the road to be closed for more than two hours Thursday night.

[…]

Police, who arrived about 30 minutes later together with a Bomb Squad, sealed off the road and areas surrounding it before detonating it at 10.15pm. [Bomb Find Causes Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz To Be Sealed Off. Bernama. February 15 2008]

Is KL suddenly on the front line?

There will be a World’s Monopoly and right now, Hasbro is taking vote on which cities to include.
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So, there is a plan to turn Kuala Lumpur into an almost wireless city by 2010. That is one huge plan but it would be exciting!

The best thing is, it will be free for 2 years. So, no more stealing those wireless broadband from Starbuck!
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I woke to news that tear gas has been fired at crowd again. Unlike the Bersih rally, tear gas seems to have been used more liberally (via):

Hours before the protest organised by Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) is due to take place, the police have already begun firing tear gas and chemical-laced water to disperse crowds in three areas in Kuala Lumpur - Jalan Ampang, the KLCC and Batu Caves.

The police fired a volley of tear gas at Jalan Ampang at about 7.40am today to disperse a large crowd who had gathered there. The area has been declared a curfew zone by the police, who have issued a ‘arrest on sight’ order.

Earlier, the police also used tear gas to disperse a crowd which gathered at Batu Caves and the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) areas.

Despite roadblocks and a tight police cordon to seal off the city, thousands of Indians from all around the country have arrived in Kuala Lumpur since last night.

Some of the protesters were already at Jalan Ampang near Nikko Hotel - a stone throw away from the British High Commission - early this morning.

Despite repeated firing of chemical-laced water against the 2,000-strong crowd, the protestors appeared defiant and refused to budge.

Police presence is heavy and a few arrests have been made. Part of Jalan Ampang is already closed but protesters continue to filter in from all sides. [Tear gas fired at defiant protesters. Malaysiakini. November 25 2007]

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By now, the worst fears of a couple have come true - the body of a young girl found stuffed in a gym bag some days back is indeed of their daughter, Nurin Jazlin Jazimin.

Has the civic consciousness and morality our society degraded to such an extent that more and more inhuman and cruel acts are being perpetrated? How could any person claiming to be human do something like this?
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It is really amazing how the mind of some people work. Consider this snippet of nonsense:

Malaysian youth “would be exposed to moral decay if we continue to allow such concerts to be held in Malaysia.”
(from Malaysiakini)

This pearl of “wisdom” comes from the Muslim Students Union… whose wish is for the upcoming Gwen Stefani, scheduled for August 21.

Yeah, let’s ban everything we don’t like, why don’t we?

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At long last, finally an entry from yours truly to kick off Walski’s venture into KL MetroBlogging… with apologies to the rest of the KL MetroBlogging crew!

Well, what can I say… as August 31 approaches, we are indeed living in interesting times. The big hoo-harr about blogs and blogging that we’ve been hearing about of late has gotten me thinking - what gives? Why the sudden heightened paranoia about citizens having an unrestricted voice?

Well, a few things come to mind… but most of all, what Walski sees as the real implication of blogs and blogging, in view that a General Election may not be too far away…
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