KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 — After last Saturday’s rally, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers now plan to stage a protest outside Parliament tomorrow in yet another bid to demand for jailed Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s release.
According to PKR’s Padang Serai MP N. Surendran, lawmakers from the opposition bloc will gather outside the Parliament building before the sitting resumes tomorrow morning with banners and placards in support of their leader.
“It’s a sad day for democracy that the opposition leader is behind bars on the first day of parliament, and tomorrow morning, (PR) MPs will gather outside the main gate to protest the fact that the opposition leader is behind bars… that happens at 9 am tomorrow morning,” the PKR vice-president told reporters in Parliament this afternoon.
He added that such protests will be continuously carried out “for the public and the world to see”, but gave his assurance, however, that this does not mean the coalition members will be boycotting the ongoing parliamentary sitting.
“This may be a longer battle than expected and we will continue in whichever way.
“The Opposition Leader must be released and that is our demand,” Surendran added.
When asked who will replace Anwar as PR’s collective voice in the lower house, Surendran said that the question does not arise as Anwar will continue to function as Opposition Leader from the Sungai Buloh prison where he is currently held.
‘In fact, he will be scrutinising the King’s speech and his (Anwar) speech will be read in the Parliament tomorrow.
“So even though in Sungai Buloh, he continues his job as the opposition leader and as MP of Permatang Pauh, and we expect every facility to be given to him to function,” he added.
Members of the opposition bloc turned up in Parliament earlier today in all-black formal attire as a sign of protest against the imprisonment of Anwar.
At least seven PR MPs eschewed the official white uniform typically worn by lawmakers on the first day of the year’s parliamentary meeting, which by convention is officiated the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Last Saturday, thousands of Anwar supporters flooded the streets in the nation’s capital city to protest the government’s alleged mistreatment of the opposition leader who was jailed last month for sodomising a former male aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, in 2008.
The demonstration kicked off at 3pm from three assembly points within the city — Central Market, Masjid Jamek and the PAS headquarters on Jalan Raja Laut — before demonstrators converged at Sogo and then continued their march to the Petronas Twin Towers.
The police had previously issued a warning that the rally, headlined as #KitaLawan, was unlawful, as its organisers had failed to follow the conditions laid out in the Peaceful Assembly Act.
The #KitaLawan hashtag movement is a group formed in solidarity with Anwar with a number of its members comprising student leaders.
