Tangkapazambaki Rally Organisers Happy With 500 Strong Turnout

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Police prevented those gathered from marching to Masjid Negara from the Bangsar LRT station, causing them to sit down on the road in protest.KUALA LUMPUR: The organisers of today’s #TangkapAzamBaki rally are confident that today’s event is “just the start” in their push to get the government to take action against Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Azam Baki.
Though the rally attracted fewer than 500 protesters, spokesman Farhan Amran said he was “very happy” with the turnout.
“It depends on the reaction of the people and the government, whether they want to comply with our demands,” he told FMT when asked whether there would be another rally.
“I’m not sure if they would, but at the very least, they (government) has listened. So today is just the start.
“If let’s say the government and agencies are not doing the things we expect them to do, then maybe, just maybe, we’ll do another one.”
He was also glad to note the participation of more than 35 NGOs and six political parties — PKR, DAP, Amanah, Pejuang, Muda and Warisan.
Despite stern warnings from the police against the gathering, hundreds of protesters met at the Bangsar LRT station here earlier today to demand the arrest of Azam, who is mired in controversy over the purchase of shares in public-listed companies.
The protest organisers also wanted legal action be taken against Azam and the MACC to be placed under Parliament’s purview.
Separately, PKR Youth leader and former student activist Adam Adli described the gathering as “successful” and said organisers would continue with more campaigns like this.
“We expect many more to join in the future,” he told the media.
While he admitted it was hard to maintain SOPs such as physical distancing, he said the organisers had tried their best to get the protesters to comply with them.
Meanwhile, Brickfields district police chief Amihizam Abdul Shukor told FMT the protesters did not follow SOPs but was unsure if any action would be taken.
“That depends on whether we get orders from above,” he said. “They didn’t even ask for our permission… We have rules in this country.”
Police had previously said they did not receive any formal notice of the protest, as required under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.
They also said the rally was in violation of regulations against marching and assembly under laws related to the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988.
The rally saw police set up diversions along five roads in and around Bangsar. The rally was initially set to be held outside the Sogo shopping mall along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman in the city, which was also subject to road diversions.
Gathering at around 11am, the protesters chanted anti-corruption slogans and sang songs against Azam before marching from the Bangsar LRT station.
They had planned on marching to Masjid Negara before ending their protest at Dataran Merdeka. However, police only allowed them to march to the end of Jalan Bangsar — where a wall of police officers stood guard at the Jalan Travers-Bangsar intersection to prevent them from proceeding any further.
The protesters held a sit-down protest for about 10 minutes before making their way back to the Bangsar LRT station, whereupon they started to disperse at 12.45pm.
Traffic into Jalan Bangsar and Jalan Travers resumed at 1pm after police removed the barricades they had put in place earlier. - FMT

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