Bersih 5: Peaceful end, no drama

Several participants waited since last night and stayed at hotels nearby meeting points just to be able to kick off the rally early in the morning.

Bersih 5 went on without Bersih 2.0 chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah and secretariat manager Mandeep Singh Karpal Singh who were arrested alongside several other individuals on the eve of the rally.

Those arrested include ex-DAP Selangor exco Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew, student activists Muhamad Luqman Nul Haqim Zul Razali and Anis Syafiqah Md Yusof, Malaysia Socialist Party (PSM) leader Arutchelvan Subramaniam, DAP Kota Kinabalu Member of Parliament Wong Chee Wai @Jimmy Wong, DAP member Lee Khai Meng and activists Muhamad Safwan Anang@Talib and Hairol Nizam Md Nor.

The police have also nabbed Red Shirt leaders Datuk Jamal Md Yunos and Razali Zakaria who had pledged to wreck chaos during the event after a violent tussle with Bersih supporters in Ampang last week.

They had alerted the public on their plan to barricade several identified hotspots since last night to ensure public safety and order throughout the rally.

READ: Red Shirts leader Jamal Yunos arrested

Road closures around Dataran Merdeka, the original gathering point, were made from 7am to 6pm at several locations such as Jalan Kuching, Jalan Mahameru, Jalan Tun Ismail, Jalan Ipoh, Jalan Pahang, Jalan Tun Razak, Jalan Ampang, Jalan Pudu, Jalan Dewan Bahasa and Jalan Raja Laut.

On the day of the rally, Bersih participants congregated at several areas, namely Bangsar LRT station, Masjid Jamek LRT station, Dataran Merdeka and Masjid Negara, by 9am.

Despite heavy presence of the police personnel and Federal Reserve Unit trucks, the rally began peacefully with participants carrying handmade banners and placards, showing their support for the movement and the five demands of Bersih 5.

The five demands are for Clean elections, Clean government, Strengthened parliamentary democracy, Right to dissent, and Empowering Sabah and Sarawak.

Several entrepreneurs also took advantage of the swarm of crowd by setting up pop up stores along the street selling Bersih t-shirts, Bersih merchandise, Vuvuzuelas as well as food and drinks.

Former Bersih 2.0 co-chairman Datuk S. Ambiga addressed the crowd in Bangsar, saying the rally would go on as usual despite the previous arrests and stressed that they would not be intimidated by the authorities.

READ: 15 detained over illegal assembly

Aside from the general public and members and supporters of the two main groups Yellow Shirt and Red Shirt, the crowd also consisted of some smaller groups from the Orang Asli community and members of the opposition parties.

Among the opposition leaders who participated were PKR vice-presidents Nurul Izzah Anwar and Rafizi Ramli, DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng and Parti Amanah Negara President Mohamad Sabu.

Meanwhile, activist Hishamuddin Rais was arrested later in the day while addressing a crowd in Bangsar.

Bersih’s reactionary group, the Red Shirt, was almost absent in the morning with small pockets of sightings around Dataran Merdeka, Sogo and Masjid Jamek due to the arrest of their leader, Jamal.

Reports from ASTRO Awani’s journalists on the ground showed that the Red Shirt rally goers were involved in a small tussle among themselves and engaged in a bicker with Bersih participants.

Despite so, there was no incidences of any violence, confrontation or vandalism reported.

On the other hand, Bersih supporters went to social media to showcase their practice of ensuring clean roads throughout the demonstration by picking up any leftover trash.

Due to the heavy road blockades, several Bersih participants who were spread out at different locations were unable to march at their desired location.

Until 1pm, the situation was still under control although in several areas, Bersih 5.0 protesters have expressed their dissatisfaction over the authorities' refusal to allow them to march into Dataran Merdeka.

In the afternoon, participants from both Bersih and Red Shirt groups, took a short break for lunch and prayers before resuming their march.

At 2pm, it was reported that Maria Chin was arrested under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) and could be detained for 28 days.

Around 3pm, Bersih changed its course from Dataran Merdeka to KLCC since they were not allowed into Dataran Merdeka.

There, former prime minister and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) Chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was present, accompanied by PPBM president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and vice-president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir.

Donning a Bersih 5 shirt, Dr Mahathir addressed the crowd and urged them to change the government as well as join his party.