Jailed blogger's vigil foiled by police

A candle light vigil for jailed Malaysia Today blogger, Raja  Petra Kamarudin  (RPK) scheduled in the city centre of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was foiled by the police tonight.

Police set up barricades and prevented anyone from gathering at the venue of the vigil: Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square). The vigil was in solidarity for the jailed RPK. The police were already there before 8.00 pm to turn away those who had wanted to participate in the gathering.

By the time I was there with my friend, two bloggers were detained and taken away by the police. One of them was Haris Ibrahim and the other was unidentified.

My earlier stories: here & here & here

THE PEACEFUL EVENT THAT WAS NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE PLACE

My son and I took the bus from Shah Alam at 5.30 p.m. to make it in good time for the Candle Vigil for RPK at Dataran Merdeka tonight. After doing my maghrib prayers at the Masjid Jamek, we walked towards Dataran Merdeka from the Jalan Tun Perak side. We were feeling upbeat but it was not for long. The moment we turned the corner from the old sessions courts complex, we saw quite a number of police trucks, patrol cars, FRU trucks. The road to Dataran Merdeka was cordoned-off. There were a lot of policemen milling about but we could not see anyone holding up candles.

We started walking towards the other end of Dataran Merdeka hoping to find the organizers of the vigil. It was quite spooky for the fact that my son and I were about the only ones walking on Dataran Merdeka. Suddenly, a ranked policeman stopped us and asked what we were doing there, so I told him that I was there to join the Candle Vigil for RPK. He then curtly told me to walk straight ahead and cross over to the other side of the barricades.

It is very upsetting that the Government/Police did what they did. It is a true sign of weakness of this stupid government.

We hung around for a bit and made friends with the other disappointed participants, then a policeman came to our group and told us to disperse in 15 minutes, otherwise we would be put in the police truck that conspicuously was parked very near our group.

updates
The cops released Haris, said it was all a misunderstanding. Lawyer Edmund Bon was there at the Dang Wangi police station, just to make sure that our bro is ok.
original posting
Haris Ibrahim. The People's Parliament blogger-lawyer went to Dataran Merdeka tonight to lit a candle for RPK. Witnesses said he was minding his own business, seated on the staircase in front of the flagpole, waiting for the crowd to swell, when two cops took him away.
Whatever for, I don't know. Maybe his candle's too big? Maybe because he's the defending Syed Akbar Ali, the author who was charged for sedition Tuesday.
Haris was expecting to welcome RPK, who leaves Sg Buloh tomorrow. Source: from Rockybru