Two days ago, the organisers of the red-shirts informed editors of online news portal Malaysiakini that if some queries on funding are not answered by this afternoon, they would “tear down” Malaysiakini’s office building.

When asked does that mean physical tearing down of the building, the red-shirt left it to interpretation.

So this is my take on what the red-shirts actually would have meant.

In my humble opinion, I think the red-shirts actually meant to say “bring the house down” and not “tear the building down”.

Definition of “bring the house down” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus is this: “If someone or something brings the house down during a play or show, they make the people watching it laugh or clap very loudly; The clown sang a duet with the talking horse, which brought the house down every night.”

Therefore, if whatever queries are not answered by Malaysiakini, the red-shirts would put on a show that would make the people watching it laugh or clap very loudly. This is what was probably meant by the red-shirts.

I hope that Malaysiakini have a good sound system ready and available at their offices when the red-shirts arrive. They are probably going to put on a show for the entertainment of everyone watching. A Macarena dance maybe. Or better still, Stop! Hammer time, oh oh oh.

Similarly, come Nov 19, the yellow-shirts (Bersih 5) would be having their own gathering. And coincidentally, it is Lembah Pantai MP’s (Nurul Izzah Anwar’s) birthday. So, Bersih, too, should have some entertainment (some music perhaps) to celebrate her birthday. In other words, like the red-shirts, the yellow-shirts, too, should “bring the house down” with some innocent fun and entertainment.

And if and when the red-shirts do arrive at this gathering of Bersih 5 to join in the fun, perhaps they can put on a show that would “bring down the house”, again. Singing ‘It’s my party and I’ll cry if want to’ ( Lesley Gore) would do the trick, I reckon.

PUTHAN PERUMAL is an advocate and solicitor of the High Court of Malaya.