Be Safe Everyone

I am writing this on the eve of what promises to be a massive rally of individuals. This is all triggered by Bersih being a coalition pushing for electoral reform in Malaysia, seeking clean and fair elections. We have then since seen two other groups, being Perkasa and UMNO Youth, also intending to stage their own counter-protests in Kuala Lumpur.

With the (unjustified) crackdown by the Government, we have seen massive road blocks being put in places as far as Shah Alam and Subang, KL city is in lockdown mode and with LRTs and buses being diverted. All this, the Government and police assures us, is for public safety. The mainstream media has shed all attempts of pretending to be neutral and has spoken out heavily and spun stories against the Bersih rally.

All this has done is to infuriate the public. Where there were once fence-sitters or people who weren't aware or in support of the Bersih rally, many of them have now sworn to walk and join the rally. I am now seeing friends who never once participated in such events all preparing to fight off the inevitable water cannons and tear gas tomorrow. They are reading guides on how not to be arrested and on their rights on being arrested or detained. I have friends coming back from overseas to join in the rally and others who are now camping overnight in KL in order to avoid the fort of road blocks being set up right now.

On my end, I am volunteering to be on the Bar Council urgent arrest team. Having no knowledge on criminal law, I joined more than 100 lawyers to attend a training session. I saw corporate conveyancing lawyers or senior civil litigators, all attending and learning the basics of how to interview arrested individuals and to argue at remand hearings. 

I have never seen anything like this. I have never gone through anything like this. I just hope that everyone will be safe. That everyone exercises restraint. Be safe.