— Harris Nasril The Malaysian Insider May 11, 2013
MAY 11 — The rally on May 8 was amazing. I left the office in Cheras around 6.30pm. It took me almost two hours before I reached the LDP toll plaza at Sunway around 8.30pm. Traffic was crawling on the LDP highway. I reached the Sungai Way industrial zone at 9.15pm. People were parking their cars on the highway here as traffic had come to a standstill. I parked my car near the Western Digital factory. A simple check on Google map showed that I had to walk 3.8km to the Kelana Jaya stadium. Oh my! That is the longest walk since my school days! People were already walking from here in their thousands, almost 90 per cent dressed in black. Few of them were chanting “Ubah”, “Reformasi”. The four-lane LDP had turned into a single-lane road. Cars were double-parked by the roadside.
Despite the police warning that it was an illegal rally, I did not see even a single policeman when I reached the stadium around 9.45pm. It was packed like sardines in a can! The entrance was totally blocked. I saw a few people climbing the fence to get inside. Without wasting time, I too climbed the fence to get in. People from inside the stadium helped me up. I also saw a young Chinese girl climb up too and helped by a Malay guy.
The view from inside the stadium was incredible! It was a sea of people in black. It was an amazing sight to see that such a crowd could be mobilised in just two days and despite the police warning to arrest anyone going to the stadium. Journalists estimated the crowd at 120,000, making it one of the biggest rallies in recent times. Those who could not get in the stadium also numbered in the thousands. More people were pouring in around 10pm.
The spirit of the people was extraordinary. Most of them were upset with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak for playing with racial sentiments to divert attention from the poor Umno performance in the general election. The Utusan Malaysia headline the previous day also contributed to this anger. I was very surprised with the many youngsters, and they were multiracial as well, joining this rally. Another sign that this election belonged to the younger generation.
The rally ended about 11.30pm with the singing of the national anthem “Negaraku”. It really touched my heart to hear 120,000 Malaysians singing the song together, with one common mission.
I reached home at almost 2am because of the heavy traffic. I was totally exhausted but it was worth it! The people have spoken. They reject racist politics that is been played by Umno and Utusan. We are Malaysians. Once we see ourselves as a Malaysian, we can see the end of Umno-BN race-based politics.
The people spoke quietly on May 5 by voting and they didn’t get what they wanted.
On May 8 the people spoke loud! Louder than ever to claim back what is rightfully theirs. Those youngsters who joined the rally will determine the next general election. When Najib will listen to them, only time will tell.