Following successful Black 505 aka #black505 mega-rallies in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, large crowds gathered last night in Medan Istana, Ipoh for a similar mourning against alleged electoral fraud. Eyewitnesses contacted by Malaysiakini told of a crowd size up to 30,000, many of whom were dressed in the trademark black.
“Speeches are now ongoing on stage and the crowd is about 30,000. It is peaceful and semangat (in high spirits)”, said one of the rally’s participants Sandrea Ng when contacted at about 9pm.
Previous events in Kelana Jaya, Kuala Lumpur and Batu Kawan,Penang had drawn crowds of about 120,000 each, while another event is slated for Tuesday and Wednesday in Kuantan, Pahang and Johor Bahru, Johor respectively.
The rallies are protesting against alleged fraud and misconduct in 13th Malaysian general election.
Among the speakers slated to speak at today’s event, which started at about 8pm, include PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and former Perak Menteri Besar Nizar Jamaluddin. The venue is also just outside the PKR Perak headquarters and near the state secretariat building.
Although the police said they have not approved the rally, organisers said the authorities were not interfering with the event. “There are police personnel around, but so far they are not giving any problems”, said Teja assemblyperson Chang Lih Kang when contacted.
(Source)
