KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 ― Warnings that Saturday’s “Black 505” rally at Padang Merbok here will bring the boot of the authorities upon them have not fazed the organisers, hinting at a more defiant opposition awaiting the government when the 13th Parliament convenes today.

Videos and photographs from the rally appeared to show the presence of minors — prohibited under the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) — although the authorities insist the event as a whole was in violation of the Act introduced ostensibly to promote greater civil liberties.

Police warned after the rally that stern action will be taken against the organisers.

“We are prepared to face police action, we are not intimidated by the warnings and problems that will arise,” Anthony Loke, a co-organiser of the rally, was quoted as saying by the Sinar Harian news portal in a report today.

Loke, who is also Seremban MP, said his party’s response will now depend on how authorities choose to react to the peaceful rally.

Later today, the first sitting of the current session of Parliament will convene at Parliament House, just a stone’s throw away from where the rally was held last weekend.

If the last session and Loke’s response are any indicators, today promises to be a raucous and rowdy affair given that the loose opposition pact of the DAP, PAS, and PKR — together known as Pakatan Rakyat — managed to gain ground against the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) in the May 5 general election.

In the general election, BN retained power albeit with a smaller majority of 133 seats against the 89 held by PR. It also lost the popular vote for the first time since 1969, when it last contested as the Alliance party.

The results of the general election spurred PR to start its “Black 505” series of rallies to protest against alleged electoral fraud during the polls, holding up the symbolic popular vote victory as evidence of such.

It is demanding, among others, the resignation of the entire Election Commission and a review of the results in constituencies it alleges it would have won in the absence of fraud and which it claims would have given it the keys to Putrajaya.