By Mariam Mokhtar
Malaysiakini
Mar 30, 2015
The Kita Lawan protest route from Sogo to the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) is only a few kilometres long, but the contrast between the crowds at each end, typifies the great divide found in Najib Abdul Razak’s ‘1Malaysia’.
At the Sogo end, protesters in the Kita Lawan rally gathered, most wearing black. The policemen on stand-by were ready to pounce and arrest them if they ‘misbehaved’.
In stark contrast, the gathering at KLCC comprised the glitterati of Malaysian society and international guests. They had been invited to the wedding reception of Najib Abdul Razak’s daughter, Nooryana Najwa.
Najib and his wife, the self-styled First Lady of Malaysia (FLOM), and their guests were dressed in their best finery and bedecked in bling, Birkin and Manolo Blahniks. Nooryana’s marriage to the Kazakhstan citizen Daniyar Kessikbayev has both enraged and excited the rakyat. Policemen formed-up in three ranks to protect the ‘elites’, from the rakyat.
The demonstrators travelled to Sogo, by public transport, before walking to KLCC. They had gathered to demand the release of jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. They were outraged by the goods and services tax (GST), 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), the rising cost of everyday items, and the current sweep on opposition politicians and social activists.
The Kita Lawan crowd came from all walks of life. Najib’s ‘1Malaysia’ was better represented at Sogo than at KLCC.
The KLCC elite were from the great and the not-so-good. They arrived at KLCC in chauffeured, air-conditioned comfort, along roads cleared by the police. Continue reading “A wedding and two gatherings”