Teresa Kok

1)FRU waiting to act against the protestors. (26-3-06)
2)Water canon dispersed the crowd outside KLCC on 26th March 06.

3) Ronnie Liu and I were trying to speak to the police officer of Pudu Jail lock-up. (26-3-06)
4) We used mineral water bottle to knock at the gate of Pudu Jail lock-up, to demand to meet with the detainees. (26-3-06)

5)Protestors led by MTUC gathered at the entrance of Parliament on 27th March 06.
6) DAP MPs greeted the protestors outside the Parliament.

MTUC leaders led workers and NGOs’ activists at KLCC to protest against fuel price hike in the morning of 26th March 2006 (Sunday). They staged another demonstration outside the Parliament house on Monday morning, 27th March 2006.

The crowd at the demonstration on Sunday was dispersed and 17 were arrested. I did not attend the demonstration at KLCC as I was in the forum on Burma issue at Chinese Assembly Hall. However, I went to Pudu Jail lock-up later to give support to those who have been arrested and detained outside Pudu Jail lock-up. Among those who were hauled into Pudu Jail lock-up were PAS’ treasurer, Dr Hatta and his daughters. .

I tried to used my MP’s identity card to demand to see the detainees, but the police officers refused to let me in. The lawyers who demanded to meet them earlier got the same treatment too. After making noise at the gate of Pudu Jail lock-up, I then left the scene and went to another meeting.

The demonstration outside the Parliament house was smoother the next day. May be because the entry road to Parliament house is narrower and many MPs and government officers were going into the Parliament house in the morning, so the police found it difficult to take action against them from about 9.00 to 10.30am, as this will cause traffic jam and create a messy scene.

The protestors outside Parliament house were very discipline, there were about 500 of them. I felt so encouraged to see them gathered outside the Parliament house. There has been quite some time now that I did not see or participate in such protest gathering after the REFORMASI movement many years ago. After driving into the Parliament house, I parked my car by the road side and went to greet the protestors despite the warning of the police officers.

Members of the press were watching on one side of the road with all their cameras. However, besides alternative media like Malaysiakini, none of the media carried the photos of the demonstration outside the Parliament. Most of the papers just carried Nazri’s statement that demonstration won’t make the government reduce oil prices and these reports just mentioned in passing the demonstration outside Parliament house.