KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 — Members of the opposition bloc today turned up in Parliament in all-black formal attire as a sign of protest against the imprisonment of their leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
At least seven Pakatan Rakyat 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 by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
“We were advised to wear such attire… it is still permitted though, so we chose to go with it,” DAP’s Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun told journalists on the sidelines.
Padang Serai MP N. Surendran said the decision was a collective move by PR as a whole to tell Putrajaya that the situation now is not “business as usual”.
“Everybody is wearing black because the opposition leader has been jailed and is not allowed to attend Parliament, “ the PKR vice-president added.
Apart from Fong and Surendran, the other lawmakers spotted clad in all black outfits were Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching, Kelana Jaya MP Wong Chen, Batu MP Tian Chua, Kuala Langat MP Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid and Sepang MP Hanipa Maidin.
Last Saturday, thousands of Anwar supporters flooded the streets in the nation’s capital city to protest Putrajaya’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 movement is a solidarity group in support of Anwar, with members comprising a number of student leaders.
