KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 28 ― It’s going to be a long weekend for Malaysians for two reasons.
Firstly, it’s the weekend before Merdeka Day on August 31 (if you didn’t already know, that’s next Monday). This means it’ll be a three-day weekend and you can expect traffic, both motorised and human alike, to get even more congested than usual as Malaysians make full use of the holiday to pound the city's pavements.
Secondly, it’s also the weekend of Bersih 2.0's mass rally dubbed "Bersih 4". This means that possibly tens of thousands more will be joining these weekend pavement pounders on the streets of the capital. Why, you ask? Their reasons are five-fold (if you didn’t already know): Clean elections; clean government; right to dissent; strengthening parliamentary democracy and saving our economy.
Most will be garbed in yellow and many will be armed to the teeth with all kinds of rally paraphernalia imaginable, including placards, picket signs, sleeping bags, goggles, lots of mineral water and little baggies of salt (just in case).
One might also expect to see quite a few of our friendly men-in-blue, backed perhaps by the same feared fire-red trucks that have been featured quite prominently in photographs from rallies past.
Yes indeed, it’s going to be a long weekend.
So if you hate crowds, you might prefer staying home and keeping those TV couches warm. But if you’d rather suit up and get your rally on, then we bid you safe travels.
And now we give you the numbers:
