HINDRAF's Candlelight Vigil

We arrived at Dataran Merdeka just after 6.30pm. The perimeters of the square were casually littered with cops, who did not permit anyone into the square.

I had my camera with me and I was dying to take some shots of the empty square but decided against it as the cops were giving me the hairy eyeball.

So Shar and I merely walked towards the Bar Council, where we saw a small group waiting there.


Wisely, much of the crowd gathered in small groups. They were mainly waiting for instructions, presumably from Uthayakumar (whom we later found out had been promptly arrested).

The media was also waiting - some impatiently, as this was obviously turning into a non-event.


The turnout was rather poor and I barely saw a crowd. In fact, I would hazard a guess that the police outnumbered the vigil-holders.

This bunch of policemen outside the Loke Yew building were obviously not impressed by the crowd as they barely paid attention to them.


We heard there was more action over at Masjid Jamek, so we ambled over. Yes, we ambled - there didn't seem any reason to rush. Life was moving at its usual pace.


There was a slightly better crowd there though. And the FRU was in full force though I did not personally see any water cannons or tear gas squad.

A pal informed me that 16 had already been arrested. It was news that did not go down well. These HINDRAF women were obviously worried and displeased that even women were arrested.


Not to mention that even though no one resisted arrest, they were roughly manhandled and dragged into the waiting trucks.

It was such a contrast to the vehemently racist cow-head protest by the 'Shah Alam Section 23 residents' whom I believe are UMNO stooges.

I was befuddled that UMNO government sees no need to play down its obvious double-standards, as that incident is fresh in the minds of the public.

Frankly, there was no need to arrest any of those who were holding vigil peacefully.

But Shar and I agreed that in the mind of the UMNO government, the Ketuanan Melayu concept has to be upheld. Conceding to the non-Malays (even for PR reasons) would be seen as a sign of weakness by the UMNOputras.

And that is the government we have.