"This is Malaysia, stupid,"

[.... ] I arrived late after a media function around 10pm I decided not to join the crowd in the singing of Negaraku. I was in fact standing next to the platoon of armed policemen readying for the charge when I heard the commander issue the order to charge and arrest. I called my friend who was in the crowd to tell him to run for his life and to tell the others too. But they continued singing the national anthem and as they were on the last one or two bars of the Negaraku, the platoon moved in, a sight so fearsome that it would not fail to intimidate even the most seasoned of protesters. What followed was sheer madness. Wholly brutal, wholly unnecessary.

A well dressed young Indonesian lady kept screaming at me: "Oh My God, oh my God! I have seen all this on TV but how can this happen in Malaysia?"

This irritated me so I told her, "This is Malaysia, stupid," only to find out later that she's one of the leader's girlfriend.

I waited all night into 2am for those arrested to be released but in vain. Never mind that it was a peaceful gathering and the posed no threat to public security. There were more than four of them, and they met together without a police permit. In law, that's an illegal assembly. They should know they are at risk of being baton charged and arrested. How sad. - Sinchew