2010 Air Untuk Rakyat rally

Last updated

The 2010 Air Untuk Rakyat rally was a rally held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 5 December 2010. The rally organiser, the Air Untuk Rakyat movement and federal opposition Pakatan Rakyat, had called the protest regarding the privatisation of water management in Selangor state which surrounds the capital, Kuala Lumpur and the federal government's bailout of SYABAS, a water distribution firm controlled by associate of the UMNO-led federal government crony Rozali Ismail. A secondary objective of the rally was to hand over a petition with over 250,000 signatures to the King Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin to intervene against the privatisation of the water services in the state at the Istana Negara. [1]

According to various estimates the rally attracted between 2,500 [2] to 10,000 [3] people. The rally started gathering outside the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur at 9 o'clock, early Sunday morning on 5 December 2010.

Police actions

All the roads leading to Istana Negara and the National Mosque were guarded and blocked a day before by police causing a massive traffic jams in various parts of the city. At least 60 [4] people were arrested by the Malaysian police who considered the gathering illegal. The police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd. [5] [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Pua</span> Malaysian politician and investor

Tony Pua Kiam Wee is a Malaysian politician and investor who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Damansara from May 2018 to November 2022, for Petaling Jaya Utara from March 2008 to May 2018 and Political Secretary to the Minister of Finance from May 2018 to February 2020. He is a member of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of presently the Pakatan Harapan (PH) and formerly Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalitions. He has also served as Policy Advisor to the Secretary-General of DAP since May 2022 and was National Publicity Secretary of DAP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HINDRAF</span> Political party in Malaysia

Hindu Rights Action Force, better known by its acronym HINDRAF ; is a Hindu-activism right-wing non-governmental organisation (NGO) with its renowned slogan of Makkal Sakti or Kuasa Rakyat translated as People's Power. This organisation began as a coalition of 30 Hindu NGOs committed to the preservation of Hindu community rights and heritage in a multiracial Malaysia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Bersih rally</span>

The 2007 Bersih rally was a rally held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 10 November 2007. The aim of this walk was to campaign for electoral reform. It was precipitated by allegations of corruption and discrepancies in the Malaysian election system that heavily favour the ruling political party, Barisan Nasional, which has been in power since Malaysia achieved its independence in 1957.

The Coalition for Clean and Fair Election or Bersih is a coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which seeks to reform the current electoral system in Malaysia to improve its democracy by ensuring free, clean and fair elections among other reforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 HINDRAF rally</span>

The 2007 HINDRAF rally was a rally held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 25 November 2007. The rally organiser, the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF), had called the protest over alleged discriminatory policies which favour ethnic Malays. The rally was the second such street protest after the 2007 Bersih rally in Kuala Lumpur on 10 November 2007. The rally started when a crowd estimated to be between 5,000 and 30,000 people gathered outside the Petronas Twin Towers at midnight, early Sunday morning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Reserve Unit</span> Military unit

The Federal Reserve Unit, or better known by the abbreviation as FRU, is a riot control force and a paramilitary special response team that can be deployed at any time to engage in any emergency or public unrest in Malaysia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 in Malaysia</span> List of events

This article lists important figures and events in Malaysian public affairs during the year 2009, together with the deaths of notable Malaysians. Malaysia hosted the 2009 ASEAN Para Games between 15 and 19 August. Malaysia recorded more than 2,000 confirmed cases of influenza A(H1N1) and 76 deaths during a world pandemic of the disease.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Malaysian general election</span>

General elections were held in Malaysia on Sunday, 5 May 2013. Voting took place in all 222 parliamentary constituencies, each electing one MP to the Dewan Rakyat, the dominant house of Parliament. State elections also took place in 505 state constituencies in 12 of the 13 states on the same day. The elections were the first since Najib Razak became Prime Minister in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. Samad Said</span> Malaysian novelist and poet (born 1935)

Abdul Samad bin Mohamed Said is a Malaysian novelist and poet. In May 1976, he was named by Malaysia literature communities and many of the country's linguists as the Pejuang Sastera [Literary Exponent] receiving, within the following decade, the 1979 Southeast Asia Write Award and, in 1986, in appreciation of his continuous writings and contributions to the nation's literary heritage, or Kesusasteraan Melayu, the title Sasterawan Negara or National Leaurate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 in Malaysia</span> List of events

This article lists important figures and events in Malaysian public affairs during the year 2010, together with the deaths of notable Malaysians. Malaysia Day, 16 September was celebrated as a national holiday for the first time.

The Cow head protests were held in front of the Selangor state government headquarters at the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Building, Shah Alam, Malaysia on 28 August 2009. The protest was called so because the act of a few participants who brought along a cow head, which they later desecrated. The cow is considered a sacred animal to Hindus.

Water supply and sanitation in Malaysia is characterised by numerous achievements, as well as some challenges. Universal access to water supply at affordable tariffs is a substantial achievement. The government has also shown a commitment to make the sector more efficient, to create a sustainable funding mechanism and to improve the customer orientation of service providers through sector reforms enacted in 2006. The reform creates a modern institutional structure for the water sector, including an autonomous regulatory agency, an asset management company and commercialised state water companies that have to reach certain key performance indicators that will be monitored by the regulatory agency. The government has also stated its intention not to embark on new private sector contracts for water provision, after a bout of such contracts during the 1990s showed mixed results.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 in Malaysia</span> List of events

2011 in Malaysia is the 54th anniversary of Malaysia's independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bersih 2.0 rally</span> 2011 demonstration against electoral fraud and corruption in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The Bersih 2.0 rally was a demonstration in Kuala Lumpur held on 9 July 2011 as a follow-up to the 2007 Bersih rally. The rally, organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih), was supported by Pakatan Rakyat, the coalition of the three largest opposition parties in Malaysia, but was deemed illegal by the government. Bersih, chaired by former president of the Bar Council Ambiga Sreenevasan, were pushing the Election Commission of Malaysia (EC) to ensure free and fair elections in Malaysia. It demanded that the EC clean up the electoral roll, reform postal voting, use indelible ink, introduce a minimum 21-day campaign period, allow all parties free access to the media, and put an end to electoral fraud.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bersih 3.0 rally</span> Malaysian democratic protest

The Bersih 3.0 rally was the largest democratic protest in Malaysia. This rally was organised as a follow-up to the 2011 Bersih rally and the 2007 Bersih rally. The rally, organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih), was supported by Pakatan Rakyat, the coalition of the three largest opposition parties in Malaysia along with other small political parties like Parti Sosialis Malaysia and social organisations such as Malaysian Trades Union Congress, Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) and Malaysian Bar. In addition, Bersih 3.0 was endorsed by 84 NGOs. In particular, it was joined by Himpunan Hijau, a civil movement protesting the Lynas rare earth project in Malaysia. In addition to the main rally at Kuala Lumpur, smaller rallies were held in 10 other cities in Malaysia, as well as in 34 other countries. Following the last rally in 2011, the government of Malaysia organised a Public Select Committee (PSC) to look into electoral reforms in Malaysia, which released their proposals in April 2012. Seven of the eight demands by the Bersih have been included in the 22 recommendations submitted by the PSC. PSC Committee member P. Kamalanathan said only one demand by Bersih, on a minimum 21 days campaign period, was not included because it was not suitable to be implemented in Sabah and Sarawak. However, the matter was still being considered, where the current campaign period of seven days had been extended to 10 days. Bersih claimed that PSC proposals were half-hearted and accused the Election Commission of Malaysia (EC) of being insincere in introducing electoral reforms. Bersih has stated that they would call off the rally if the Malaysian government gave a guarantee that electoral reforms take place before the next Malaysian general elections.

Perumal Balasubramaniam, also known as P. Balasubramaniam and PI Bala, was a Malaysian police officer who garnered notoriety as the crown witness in the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu in Shah Alam, Selangor. He was a former member of the Special Branch Police Office (PDRM), and before that he served on Abdul Razak Baginda's payroll as a security officer, private investigator and possibly henchmen. He became a controversial figure, after he retracted the statement he made in a sworn affidavit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 in Malaysia</span> List of events

The following lists events from 2015 in Malaysia.

The May Day Anti-GST Rally was a rally held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on May 1, 2014. The rally was organised by a coalition of 89 non-governmental organisations, including Oppressed People's Network, Parti Sosialis Malaysia, Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia, and Asalkan Bukan UMNO among others, and was supported by the opposition Pakatan Rakyat. The rally, which coincided with International Workers' Day, was held in response to the Malaysian government's plan to introduce the goods and services tax on April 1, 2015. The rally saw participants march from Kuala Lumpur City Centre and other rally points in the city to the eventual destination, Dataran Merdeka.

The May Day Anti-GST Rally was a rally held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on May 1, 2015. The rally was organised by a coalition of non-governmental organisations, including Oppressed People's Network, Parti Sosialis Malaysia, Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia, and Asalkan Bukan UMNO among others, and was supported by the opposition Pakatan Rakyat. The rally, which coincided with International Workers' Day, was held in response to the Malaysian government's rollout of the goods and services tax from April 1, 2015. The rally saw participants march from various points in Kuala Lumpur to their eventual destination, Kuala Lumpur City Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 in Malaysia</span> List of events

Events in 2016 in Malaysia.

References

  1. " Malaysian police fires tear gas and water cannons at protesters", AsiaOne, 6 December 2010.
  2. "Tear gas, water cannons fired on water protesters" Archived 8 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine , Malaysiakini.com, 5 December 2010.
  3. "Tear gas, water canons[sic] fired at Pakatan crowd protesting SYABAS bailout" Archived 8 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine , M'sian Chronicle, 5 December 2010.
  4. " Malaysian police fire tear gas on opposition protest" Archived 13 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine , Inquirer, 5 December 2010.
  5. "Malaysian police fire tear gas at protesters" Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine , ETaiwan, 5 December 2010.
  6. "KL rally turns violent", The Straits Times, 6 December 2010.