This was the peaceful candlelight vigil in Penang on 7 May.
When brute force ruled the day – but at what cost to BN?
A phyrric victory for the BN – but at what cost to its credibility?
This is a piece I wrote for Asia Times:
The battle of Malaysia’s ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition to regain control of the second-largest state on the Malaysian Peninsula may have come at a heavy price to its long-term credibility and raises questions about new Prime Minister Razak Najib’s emerging brand of leadership.
When the Deputy Speaker ruled over the Speaker
What is Hee doing here? Speaker Sivakumar alleges that Deputy Speaker Hee Yit Foong used pepper spray to attack Aulong assembly member Yew Tian Hoe. But Hee maintains the device she was holding in her hand was a key chain from her hotel and a pen drive. “I would not give him (Yew) free publicity by pepper spraying him in the House,” she was quoted in theSun as saying.
The Perak State Assembly’s mysterious “officers”
A roll call of “officers” in the Dewan car-park at the end of the day
Who were all those mysterious personnel wearing “pegawai” (officer) tags at the Perak State Assembly on that infamous 7 May?
Several photos made available to me show them during a roll-call in the Dewan’s car park at the end of the day, just before 5.00pm.
A couple of hours earlier, men in neck-ties and long-sleeves shirts, some of them donning black jackets and songkoks, sporting the same blue-and-yellow “pegawai” tags, were seen alongside a couple of uniformed police personnel, inside the Dewan proper.
Vigils: 14 arrests in KL, 10 in Kuching, one in Penang
Police moved in on the vigil in Penang – Photo by Romerz
Fourteen people were arrested in Brickfields tonight at a vigil to express solidarity with activist Wong Chin Huat.
Of the 14, seven of them were from the students’ movement Dema and two from the KL Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall youth section. They are now at a car-park at the Brickfields police stations, though their statements have not yet been recorded. The arrests today come on the heels of 14 arrests last night (though that batch were later released).
Over in Penang, USM masters student Ng Eng Kiat was detained after a “Democracy First” vigil in Penang attended by between 50 and a hundred people outside the Dewan Sri Pinang tonight. He was the emcee of the event.
Black day: Democracy bruised, lawlessness reigns
Siva’s defenders: Simpang Pulai Adun Chan Ming Kai (left) and Teja Adun Chang Lih Kang were among the Speaker’s most forthright “guardians” in the Assembly today – Photo by Anil Netto
It was a dark day for democracy. If the BN thought that its actions in the Perak State Assembly would legitimise its power grab in Perak, it was sadly mistaken. Instead, it has revealed the naked truth to so many Malaysians about how far it would go to strengthen its grip on power, even if it means undermining the very institutions it should defend.
Aliran’s P Ramakrishnan has issued a statement that, among other things, sharply criticises the refusal of the Dewan’s sergeant-at-arms to carry out Speaker Sivakumar’s orders. He also raises the issue of police conduct in helping Umno to install its Speaker:
Speaker Sivakumar: “I was held in a changing room”
A relaxed Speaker Sivakumar safe and sound after a tumultuous day – Photo by Anil Netto
Blow to democracy: Police enter the Perak State Assembly this afternoon
I ran into Sivakumar a couple of hours after he was literally dragged out from the Speaker’s chair in the Perak State Assembly by police and other officers. He looked relaxed after what must have been the most difficult day of his life.
19 arrests; those at vigil being gradually released
2316: The dragnet widens with 19 arrests since last night.
But two of the 14 at the candlelight vigil for Chin Huat tonight have been released and it appears as if the remaining 12 will be also gradually released tonight after police record their particulars. It doesn’t appear as if their statements are being recorded.
1) Wong Chin Huat in KL last night.
Altantuya birthday cake incident in Putrajaya today
Three activists from Solidariti Anak Muda
2) Sani Md Shah
3) Saufi Mihat
4) Yasir Sheikh Abdul Rahman