Saturday, April 28, 2012

Merdeka Square closed ahead of protest

The authorities are making clear their intention to keep all and sundry off the field where the Malaysian flag was first hoisted on Independence Day in August 1957.
A huge LED screen at a corner of the field proclaims the Kuala Lumpur mayor's order that prohibits any gathering there for 48 hours from 6am yesterday.
It was a forbidding scene at the square yesterday, with the rare use of metal barricades and razor-wire keeping both people and cars away from the field and its surrounding streets.
'It's disheartening. This is supposed to be our independence square. Do these barricades look liberating to you?' said Mr Zaidan Abdullah, 30, an insurance salesman from Terengganu.
Mr Deepak Gill, a Bersih supporter, said many of his peers were undeterred from turning up, but hoped that the police would not hurt citizens.
'Of course, we believe in what we are doing. I am sure most of the cops don't believe in what they are doing,' he said.