UPDATE 15 April, 10.40 am: More pictures. Courtesy of TV Smith.
I was at the celebration at Kelab Sultan Sulaiman, Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur which was held this evening to mark the expiry of Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s ban from public office, 10 years after he was sacked as Deputy Prime Minister.
Congratulations and best wishes Dato’ Seri.
The crowd comprising of all groups of Malaysians was huge and eager. I get this feeling that they want to hear what their prime-minister-in-waiting has to say. My estimation of the crowd was that it was about 20,000 strong.
I don’t think the main-stream media will report about this event in a major way. Even if they do, they will probably claim the crowd was about 200 or 2,000 (they somehow have this dirty habit of dropping or ‘swallowing’ their zeros … I wonder why.)
Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the de facto leader of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, spoke to the guests for more than an hour but what was most memorable was his affirmation that Pakatan Rakyat (a coalition of PKR, DAP and PAS) stands firmly in its belief for Ketuanan Rakyat.
He reiterated that there are poor and marginalised Malays as well as Chinese, Indians and others from the ethnic groups in Sabah and Sarawak. The welfare of the rakyat is paramount and Pakatan Rakyat will never forget this point. Pakatan Rakyat will serve the interests of the Malays as well as all other Malaysians. Race-based politics, he alluded, is also dead and gone.
I came away from the celebration with a happy feeling and is assured that Malaysia has a bright future. I am sure the rest of the crowd felt the same way.
I was also told that tonight’s celebration also coincided with Raja Petra Kamarudin’s 35th wedding anniversary celebration. My congratulations and best wishes also go to Raja Petra and his beloved wife. (Raja Petra Kamarudin is the founder of Malaysia Today blog.)Pictures courtesy of TV Smith:
Pictures courtesy of Hard-T:
fast review yb! congratz!i was there too…for the 1st time, i saw a huge crowd of malaysians – melayu, cina & india, semuanya datang berkumpul mendengar ceramah sdr. anwarof course, teramat sakit hati dengan fru & polis yg TERLALU RAMAI, i think more than 500…dah takde kerja sangat ke kat KL sampai nak kena jaga ceramah? security kat KL dah selamat sangat ke?paling disapponting, waktu polis suruh anwar berhenti bercakap, fru kat luar padang (depan pintu masuk kelab) dah siap berbaris dengan cota & perisai untuk menggempur rakyat, sedangkan waktu tu jugak rakyat dah slowly keluar padang untuk balik? nak tunjuk hebat dengan rakyat ke? tak sabar2 nak pukul kami semua?? gaji kamu semua kami yang bayar kenapa nak berlagak sangat?? BIADAP!!
finally!!!This is real unite of all races!!!Let racist know their political time are near ended.i’m hoping pakatan rakyat will win and organize federal government.Juz wait and see..
Unclear YouTube Video of the Second Merdeka celebrations at Sultan Sulaiman.http://youtube.com/watch?v=rAh1EjVAbmw
More juicy photos:http://edyesdotcom.blogspot.com/2008/04/ribuan-sambut-anwar-bebas-berpolitik.html
Read good stuff here on the event.http://themalaysianinsider.com/mni/yesterday-black-14-today-white-15.html
The MalaysianInsider says the crowd was 30,000. 10,000 inside and 20,000 outside. Check here:http://themalaysianinsider.com/mni/anwar-claims-his-alliance-set-to-take-over-govt.html
Selangor Exco Member, Ronnie Liu says in his blog the crowd was 30,000 and adds: Hidup Anwar.http://colour-blind.org/wordpress/?p=655
Mr Wee,I think I saw you walking towards the stage thru the big screen!The last time we had such gathering was before the election and it happened again yesterday. Crowd was huge and spirit was high and will remain so until the couple of weeks waiting anxiously whats next will take placeOn the way back on the train I was proud by the people from various races holding placards given during the night. It really shows the Suara Rakyat believe is for us all regardless of race and religion.oh okay, need to stop and get ready to work!
walau jauh beribu batu, terasa-rasa macam ada disana.salam reformasihttp://ceritarassa.blogspot.com/2008/04/gelita-14.htmlokt black 14manchester
and some update here…www.hueymei.blogspot.com
Congrats! Great “Show” ! By power of rakyat… this is the kind of DEMO/Protest we need..! Peaceful and controllable one… Police & FRU can’t do anything but standing around…
Din from Manchester. It was nice to hear from you so far away. I really am glad that you are interested in Malaysia. Just like me when I was studying in London, I was very interesteed in Malaysia. I am slo glad that other readers are sharing the same view about the grand ocassion laast nite. The last GE on 8th March, the Rakyat have spoken that they want a just, fair and transparent Malaysia for all Malaysians. The Rakyat have rejected racial based politics.Lasat night Datuk Seri Anwar, the de facto Presidnet of PKR and Pakatan Rakyat,reenforced the Rakyat aspirations and wishes. He spoke in no uncertain terms that no races be allowed to be marginalised by Pakatan Rakyat and that Pakatan Rakyat will be cemented by the noble principles of JUST, FAIR and TRANSPARENT. Datuk Seri Anwar also stressed PKR and Pakatan will push for a zero tolerance for bribery. Lets all help Datuk Seri Anwar to achieve these noble goals for Malaysia. Thank you for your valuable supports.
Mr Wee and all,Here’s a link from DSAI’s blog:http://anwaribrahimblog.com/2008/04/15/video-ucapan-anwar-di-black-14/
APA NAK JADI DENGAN NEGARA KITA SEOLAH-OLAH TIADA UNDANG-UNDANG ……..SESUKA HATI ……TIDAK FAHAM UNDANG-UNDANG ATAU TIDAK MAHU MEMAHAMI UNDANG-UNDANG