the hindraf rally

UPDATED! video from al-jazeera (scroll down right to the end)

ok obligatory post! however, as usual, since many had already blog on it, i will provide some links here and there.

so once again (as in the bersih rally)… a rally was denied permit; once again, the organisers went ahead with it despite no permit; and once again, the police acted rough!!! water canon! tear gas! beat up some protestors!! grrr!!

i was so mad and fed up of hearing (from the gomen side) so many times that the rally is illegal so the police had to act. come lah, you don’t want to give permit, than you say illegal. where is the democracy here? where is the people’s rights here to assemble peacefully? if you give permit, the people will assemble/march peacefully but you didn’t want to give permit… instead you prefer to give water canon and tear gas! grr!

someone said that from the bersih rally and now the hindraff rally, seeing the action of the gomen (refusing permit) and the action of the police, it looks like malaysia is a police state. oh… what’s new. it had been already.

ok here are some link of the report.

jeff ooi part 1,  part 2, part 3 (lots of big clear pictures at all parts)
kenny law
planet my, where you can see several other links
pictures and videos from sagaladoola
malaysiakini report – good heading of ‘a gandhi inspired mass disobedience’
first hand experience from shanghai stephen and from nat tan, with lots of pictures
malik imtiaz, human rights lawyer and president of hakam expressing his view on the dignity of the hindraf supporters.
also a good write-up observation from haris ibrahim, though he was strongly against the rally (he’s just doing his job, see).
lots of pictures on flickr album from malaysia today’s site.

prior to the rally there were 2 interesting posts from nat tan on why i will walk with hindraff and from haris ibrahim why i will not walk. then we there was also an interesting post from susan loone who  said that only hypocrites will ask hindraff not to rally. i disagree with haris’s stance and had made a comment there. i find it rather ridiculous to label the hindraf rally as communal and racial. i do not support hindraf’s objective of handing the petition to the british high com (haris don’t too) but i believe that was not the sole purpose of their rally. they want to protest how they are being marginalised and discriminated. just look at recent incidents of so many hindu temples being destroyed. that’s why i support the rally. that’s why we shouldn’t look to it as racial and we all as bangsa malaysia should support our hindu brothers and sisters.

oh and finally a good post-rally piece from reduced and recycled blog.

(picture above taken from reuters)

watch the video from al jazeera