KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysians are expected to take to the streets in droves here today at the #TangkapAzamBaki rally.
However, Dang Wangi police chief Noor Dellhan Yahya had warned that more than 1,000 personnel would be deployed to disperse the crowd, if necessary.
Also, police had obtained a court order preventing any assembly at Dataran Merdeka, Sogo shopping complex and Masjid Jamek from 7am onwards. Several roads and train stations leading to those areas will be closed.
Late last night, organisers changed the gathering point to the Bangsar LRT station, only for police to issue another list of road closures.
Politicians from the opposition and individuals from youth groups are expected to join the rally.
The rally is understood to be a call for action against Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Tan Sri Azam Baki after he was embroiled in a controversy surrounding his ownership of shares in two public-listed companies.
Stay tuned as The Vibes brings you more updates:
12.59pm: Traffic into Jalan Bangsar and Jalan Travers from both directions has resumed after police remove barricades situated at the turn-off into Jalan Maarof, Jalan Rakyat and Jalan Travers.
12.55pm: Sepang MP Mohamed Hanipa Maidin urges the government not to blame the youth for voicing their fierce dissent against Azam. In a statement, the former deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department says the protesters are merely exercising “the modicum of fundamental rights duly enshrined in the federal constitution. These basic rights ought to be jealously protected, come what may”.
“Let us face this fact. The government has to own the blame. It miserably failed to convince anybody, let alone the youths or anak muda, as to why no punitive action has been taken against the head of the MACC.
“Like it or not, the protest is not, in actual fact, aimed at Azam Baki himself, despite the chant of #TangkapAzamBaki. On the contrary, the protest is duly aimed at honouring the rule of law!”
12.50pm: After organisers tell the crowd to disperse, police begin doing the same, saying: “Please disperse, we have to reopen the road.”
The crowd appears to be complying.
12.43pm: Protesters have been asked to disperse by #TangkapAzamBaki organisers.
Before leaving, the crowd is seen singing Negaraku.
12:43PM - Protesters have returned to the Bangsar LRT station and are singing Negaraku. pic.twitter.com/Q8HsLrO34w
— TheVibes.com (@thevibesnews) January 22, 2022
12.38pm: The individual dressed to impersonate Azam is in chains after being part of a mock arrest. His act is part of a skit of Azam being nabbed.
12.29pm: A protester is seen apparently dressed as Azam.
He is wearing what seems to be a mock MACC uniform.
12.27pm: Police remove their vehicles blocking the route to LRT Bangsar. Protesters are allowed to march back.
The route to Dataran Merdeka is blocked by FRU personnel.
12.21pm: The crowd of protesters are marching back towards the Bangsar LRT station.
However a police cordon can be seen blocking the route to the station.
12.18pm: Parti Sosialis Malaysia deputy chairman S. Arutchelvan has been spotted at the front of a crowd of protesters.
He is carrying a sign demanding a stop to unfair enforcement of laws and wearing a T-shirt bearing the face of Karl Marx.
12.15pm: A protester has been spotted wearing a Spiderman costume with a sign referencing Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Chief Tan Sri Azam Baki and his brother.
12.05pm: Protest organiser Dobby Chew says the crowd of protesters has been asked to halt near the barricade.
He confirmed that police have given them only 15 more minutes to protest.
Asked if the protest would end after the time period, he said: “We’ll see how.”
11:53am: Protesters are marching peacefully towards the junction of Jalan Bangsar and Brickfields where they will be met by a Federal Reserve Unit formation.
It is understood that the group will attempt to negotiate with police when they reach the junction.
Meanwhile, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok is seen in front of a crowd of protesters here.
11.45am: A four-wheel drive vehicle driven by Undi18 founder Tharma Pillai has been stopped by police.
Police are heard telling protest organisers that the presence of a car near a protest crowd is dangerous. Organisers are heard agreeing to move the vehicle.
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11.37am: The crowd continues to push through Jalan Bangsar. There are approximately 200 people in attendance now.
11.30am: Tarmizi Anuwar, the person appointed by the organising committee to negotiate with authorities, said police have asked them to remain within the vicinity of Brickfields. However, they have asked police to allow them to march to the National Mosque, adding that negotiations are still ongoing.
The FRU trucks that arrived earlier have left. It is unclear where they will be stationed next.
11.19am: Protesters have started to march along Jalan Bangsar heading towards Dataran Merdeka until they are stopped by police. The march is not heading towards a specific destination.
11:00AM - Activists @AdamAdli, @mandeepkarpall, and @AsheeqAli arrive and lead the crowd in chanting "Hidup Rakyat" and "Tangkap Azam Baki".
— TheVibes.com (@thevibesnews) January 22, 2022
Currently, there are close to 100 protesters gathered under the Bangsar LRT. pic.twitter.com/TFYVDBqic3
11.10am: Protesters begin chanting “Hidup Rakyat” (long live the people) and “Tangkap Azam Baki” (arrest Azam Baki) below the Bangsar LRT station.
Seen among the crowd are lawyer and PKR member Asheeq Ali, youth activist Adam Adli, Pasir Pinji assemblyman Howard Lee, Kg Tunku assemblywoman Lim Yi Wei, and Undi18 founders Qyira Yusri and Tharma Pillai.
The group raises a large banner that reads “Tangkap Azam Baki”.
Adam Adli is now giving a speech, and is heard saying: “Change the government as many times as you want. If the institutions remain corrupt to the core, we will never change.
“The entirety of Kuala Lumpur has been locked down just to protect one man,” he says. While speaking, a convoy of the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) is seen approaching the area.
11.00am: Activists Adam Adli, Mandeep Singh and Asheeq Ali arrive and lead the crowd in chanting “Hidup Rakyat” and “Tangkap Azam Baki”.
10.45am: About 10 individuals with white hard hats are seen walking towards the Bangsar LRT station. It is understood that they have been assigned to act as marshals for the rally.
10.40am: Journalist Fareez Azman tweeted earlier that no one is allowed into Dataran Merdeka by cops on duty. In front of Maju Junction Mall, workers who are coming to start their day have also been barred from entering after the area was shut to the public.
Di hadapan Maju Junction, pekerja yg ingin bekerja juga tidak dibenarkan masuk kerana kawasan ditutup. @501Awani #AWANInews pic.twitter.com/yEYhle59t2
— Fareez Azman (@FareezAzmann) January 22, 2022
10.15am: Observers from the Bar Council and the Centre for Independent Journalism show up beside the station ahead of the #TangkapAzamBaki rally.
10am: A number of police’s Federal Reserve Unit personnel are seen around the Bangsar LRT station. There appears to be more reporters and police officers than protesters.
9.15am: The vicinity of the Bangsar LRT station, where the rally is supposed to begin in a couple of hours, seems eerily empty, with no vehicular traffic and hardly any passers-by. This came about after police closed parts of Jalan Bangsar where the station is located.
The Arrest Azam Baki Action Committee, which is organising the protest, changed the convergence point for the rally from the Sogo complex to the station following massive closures in the city centre yesterday evening. – The Vibes, January 22, 2022
Reporting by Arjun Mohanakrishnan, Emmanuel Santa Maria Chin, Lancelot Theseira
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